Whether you’ve just moved house, or you’ve just started working from home, designing your home office is a big deal. You’ll be spending the majority of your day in your office, and it’s important that your surroundings help you feel energized, increase your productivity, and help you stay focused.

Here are some top tips for designing your home office:

Form vs Function

Your storage, shelves, and desk should serve your needs, not the other way around. Before you begin investing in furniture, consider your workflow and the items you need. Them, find pieces that are both functional and beautiful. Your furniture should still complement the other rooms in your home, instead of making it feel like you’re walking into a soulless cubicle somewhere.

Know where to invest

There are plenty of places where you can pick up office furniture without breaking the bank. But if you’re going to invest in anything, make it your office chair. You’ll spend hours sitting in that chair each day, so make sure it’s comfortable, ergonomically-correct, and attractive.

Choose the right equipment

Working from home should be easy, which means you should have everything you need at your fingertips. If your work requires a lot of printing, make life easier with a wide format printer. If you spend the majority of your day typing, make sure you have an ergonomically-designed keyboard and your laptop is held at eye-height.

Embrace the light

For many people, when they put their new desk into their home office, they reflexively put it in the darkest part of the room, up against a wall. This is basically creating a corporate cubicle. Instead, situate your desk next to the windows, parallel to the glass. The natural light will help you feel happy and awake, and you’ll have plenty of reasons to switch your attention from your computer to look outside every few minutes.

Even with great natural light, it’s likely that you’ll need extra lighting for winter or darker parts of the day. Most of the time, overhead lighting will make your office feel like a hotel lobby. Instead, add a tall lamp or an interesting desk lamp for a nice soft glow.

Create a comfortable space

Your desk is where you’ll be doing your active work, however you’ll probably also need a place to read or think as well. The best home offices have a comfortable couch or chair for curling up (an ottoman is great here), plus a great lamp and a table for your coffee. Add a colorful pillow and a luxurious throw, and you won’t need to remove yourself from your office when you need to do some thinking.