CREATE A FUNCTIONAL HOME WORKSPACE

Featuring Angela Feddersen with Coda Studio Denver

If you don't have a home office or aren't feeling very productive in your current work-from-home setup, incorporating functional furniture and making a few small environmental adjustments can go a long way toward keeping you focused on getting important work done.

Angela Feddersen, owner of sustainable and American-made furniture and design shop CODA Studio in Cherry Creek North, has a few tips to create the workspace you need to stay motivated.

Bring in the Outdoors

Natural light does wonders for your brain. If possible, situate your desk with an outside view. Stuck in a small nook or basement? An easy way to add in some natural elements is to fill a vase with plants or flowers clipped from your garden, or order some from a delivery service. 

If all else fails, take short breaks outside where you can do work that doesn't require a WiFi signal. "Thankfully, we’ve been fortunate in Denver to have some great weather recently," Feddersen says. "Take your laptop to the front porch, back garden or find a clear spot in your local park to change your focus and get some fresh air."

Choose a Supportive Chair

If you have a real office chair, use it—your back will thank you later. An ergonomically designed chair will allow you to sit up higher and create a better posture for typing and using your mouse. 

De-Clutter to De-Stress

Use baskets or shelving to organize papers. If you’re working from a common area, take a few minutes at the end of your day to store your work and create some work-life separation.

Find the Right Light

"If you can utilize natural lighting, terrific," she says. "If not, add a lamp or task light to assure you can see paperwork, or plan your workday so there isn’t a glare on your laptop screen." For video calls, make sure there is lighting behind your computer to illuminate your face and have your laptop camera situated to a level above your eyes to create a clear and more flattering view. 

For a virtual home décor consultation, contact angela@coda.studio, or shop online at coda.studio or call (303) 610-7727 to place an order. CODA is offering a 25% discount on every online purchase through May 1. Furnishings are shipped direct from CODA's Los Angeles manufacturer and custom orders are delivered within 4-6 weeks.  

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HANG ARTWORK LIKE A PRO

Featuring Lisa Tyler from Cherry Creek Framing & Gallerie Rouge

Have you fallen in love with a piece of artwork you think will make a statement in your living room? Do you have several framed photos that would look perfect along your hallway? You only need to follow a few simple rules to make art look great in your home, and Lisa Tyler with Cherry Creek Framing & Gallerie Rouge has a few simple tips to help.

"This is a perfect time to look around your place to make sure your artwork looks its best," Tyler says. "We are all stuck in our houses looking for projects and this is an easy and gratifying activity." 

If you're not sure where to start, it might help to take a full accounting of available rooms and wall space, and the size of the art you want to display. "Next, ask yourself if the subject matter is appropriate for the room," she recommends. "Just these two considerations will narrow down the possibilities."

Below, Tyler shares the best way to approach two types of projects: the single piece and a grouping of art. 

The Solo Artwork

Make your single piece of artwork shine, no matter how large or small. 

Hang your piece at eye-level. For the average person, this is 60 inches to the center of your piece. Most people hang art much higher than this, so to find out if your current art is hung appropriately, grab a tape measure. Measure how tall your art is and how far the taut wire is from the top. Use this formula to determine placement: divide the height of the piece in half, add 60 inches, and subtract wire distance. For example, if your art is 40 inches tall and the wire is 13 inches down from the top, you use this equation: (40 ÷ 2) + (60 - 13) = 67. So, place your hook in the wall 67 inches up from the floor.
Center art above a sofa or bed. Art above a piece of furniture should be approximately two-thirds the width of the furniture and placed four to six inches above. Sofas can be anywhere from six to eight feet long, so your art should be about four to five feet wide. You can achieve this symmetry with one large piece or multiple smaller ones. Speaking of more than one piece of art...

The Art of Grouping

A grouping of artwork should work together and look cohesive. There are a few tricks to making a selection of artwork look like an intentional gallery wall.

Space the art evenly. Keep each piece the same distance apart and hang them close together. Typically one to three inches of distance works well.
Don't try to fill the wall. If your wall is large, it doesn’t work to spread the artwork out. This creates a visual imbalance.
Get creative and mix colors and textures. "If you like an eclectic look, creating a grouping of small framed pieces that are dissimilar is fun," Tyler says. The artwork doesn’t need to be in identical frames or even be similar art. As long as you stick to the spacing rules, you can pretty much make any collection look polished.
Remember to keep it eye-level. The center of your grouping should always be 60 inches from the floor.      

Still at a loss with an inherited piece you love that looks too old-fashioned? "If you have a piece of art that you like but doesn’t fit well in your place, sometimes just changing the frame makes all the difference," Tyler says.

Cherry Creek Framing is currently closed, but once it is safe to re-open, customers who mention this article will recieve 15% off the framing of one piece.

Check out the latest updates on all Cherry Creek North shops, boutiques and local services by visiting our Retail & Services page.