How to transform your home office into a green modern space

Everyone's going green, but some people are worried that it'll cost a lot of green to go green. While you certainly can spend a lot of money on a natural office setting, you don't have to. Most modern offices that incorporate elements of "green" space do so with low-cost products and office equipment.

Wooden L-Shaped Desk

The wooden L-shaped desk is a prime example of a "green" desk that doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

The benefit is the warm wood appearance of the furniture. If you have a light office, a darker wood finish will probably look better. If, on the other hand, you have a darker-colored office, you're better off with a light-colored desk to offset the darker room.

Placement of the desk can also make a huge difference in the feel of the room. A natural placement option is to shove the desk into a corner. But, sometimes, this can make the room look uneven. If your home office is a reasonable size, consider placing the desk in the middle of the room or allowing one end of the desk to stick out into the middle of the room - breaking it up a bit and acting as a natural divider.

Topiary Plant

A topiary plant is a plant that you can "train" through regular clipping. It's a practice done by horticulturists and involves the use of perennial plants. This practice dates back to Roman times when Cnaeus Matius Calvinus introduced the idea in the Roman gardens. Plants would be shaped through clipping the stems, leaves, and branches to create figures of animals, inscriptions, cyphers, and obelisks.

Having these types of plants in your office gives it a sort of "Zen" feel to everything. Some people believe that it makes it easier to concentrate. Others like the idea of being able to take breaks to work on their plants periodically throughout the day as a sort of recreational activity.

If you're not into topiary plants, you can always opt for common house plants like the Spider plant or the Philodendron. These plants are not only pretty but they're also good detoxifiers. Multiple studies prove that these plants remove toxins like VOCs and excess carbon dioxide as well as other air pollutants from the air.

Wooden Bookshelf

What better way to top off your natural office setting than with a wooden bookshelf. You can go for a plain shelf or design something that can be integrated right into the wall of your office. This type of integration might also save you some space if your home office is somewhat small.

As with wooden desks, try to contrast the bookshelf with the overall color scheme of the room. For integrated bookshelves, consider building an entire wall from floor to ceiling and using a ladder on a track to reach the highest shelf. This will not only add class but functionality to your office.