Home Office Success Series Ep4 Recap Jaoa Mendes with Dolores Pian & Najeeb Khan

GUEST:

Joao Mendes, Professional Nomad - Portugal

Episode Title:

PROFESSIONAL NOMAD NEEDS A SUCCESSFUL HOME OFFICE STUDIO SET-UP

Dolores and Najeeb, the HOSS Success Team to the rescue.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

Bland to a powerful Zoom studio set-up.
Acoustics for that professional clean sound.
Branding tips and tricks for your home studio set-up.
Lighting to look powerful for your awesome webinar.

Jaoa’s Story:

Jaoa is a professional nomad. When we caught up with him, he touched down at his home base located in Portugal. Nomads never settle down permanently.

What does Joao want to see in his home office?

Jaoa strongly believes in sustainability, nomadism and business with a purpose. He wanted his home office to reflect his beliefs.

Starting from scratch, Joao wanted to design an ideal professional studio set-up for his webinars and

videocasts. Presently he has one camera and wanted to graduate to a two-camera set-up.

He likes the clean lines of Scandinavian furniture. Being compact is key, where every bit of tech has a place, fulfilling a function and a purpose, like a spaceship where everything is easily accessible

and functional.

Jaoa had two non-negotiable items: 1. he wanted to keep things simple, and 2. he needed to accommodate two large screens. Of course, his studio would need proper acoustics for a professional sound.

Budget?

There was no firm budget. Joao wanted to plan an ideal home studio set-up. He would buy what he needed for now and then phase in his new purchases later.

How would this improve Jaoa’s life?

This would substantially improve his daily home and work life because he could do what was required for his business. Everything would be all set up in one room. This would be an efficient use of his work time.

Jaoa felt that Dolores’ and Najeeb’s many years of designing workspaces would help coordinate his workspace with the rest of the house. And functional enough for studio and video recording.

His newly renovated house was hardwired for internet access. No need to rely on Wi-Fi. He wanted to make sure that his connections to the web were clean and stable.

What Did Dolores and Najeeb Do?

Before meeting up with Jaoa, Dolores and Najeeb reviewed his floor plans and studied his discovery questionnaire to fully understand his space requirements for his studio.

Later, they connected with Jaoa thru Zoom sharing a drawing platform so that the three of them could be involved in the design process. They discussed and planned, in real-time, two different layouts to fulfill Jaoa’s ideal home office studio.

Room Description

His studio was located on the east side of the house and is open to the main corridor.
Wood floors, gypsum drywall and concrete ceiling with a simple ceiling light fixture.
Wall to wall closet at the north end of the room
Small window facing east
A series of glass sliding doors to the west

HOME OFFICE INTERIOR DESIGN PROCESS:

Layout #1

In Jaoa’s current layout, he has two separate desks laid out in an L-shape. He sits and stands with two large screens at his desk and looks at the closet doors.

Dolores and Najeeb suggested that he sit with his back to the closet. He can face the wall in front of him and have the window to the left.

On this wall, Jaoa can place his logo, a photo or poster. Giving him something interesting and positive to look at. This would be the perfect backdrop for future webinars.

The window provides natural light to the left. He can purchase a colour-balanced LED ring light for his video calls.

An area carpet would help with acoustics.

Layout #2

In this layout, Dolores and Najeeb planned for an L-shaped desk to face the window. He can sit and stand at his desk while looking at the gorgeous view.

Behind him would be a bookcase with his travel memorabilia and a green screen. The window would provide him with natural light. Dolores and Najeeb suggested he purchase 2 LED ring lights and place them on each side of his face for side-to-side lighting and a studio set-up.

An area carpet would help with acoustics.

Which office layout did Joao choose?

Out of all the layouts and options that we proposed to Jaoa preferred his original set-up facing the closet and having the east window to the side. He wanted to see the door to the left which allows him to see the corridor and anyone coming and going into the house. Ironic, since he’s the only person living in the house, so there’s no one coming or going.

Sometimes the best solution is not the solution you’ll use.

Why?

Psychology. Many people prefer the familiar even though it’s not logical.

In the end, he wanted ideas to enhance what he already had.

What did we learn from this professional nomad episode?

Here are some tips and tricks that you can use for your home-office and home-studio set-up:

Proper Planning & Layout

Spaces can be multi-functional. Think through the functions the room will perform. Allowing you to have a proper set-up with a variety of choices.

Branding

Enhance your reputation and reveal your brand’s personality through a well-thought-out Zoom background.

Acoustics

All soft materials such as carpets, curtains can act as sound-absorbing materials to enhance a clean natural sound.
Any open cavity such as Jaoa’s open closet doors, traps sound helping you avoid echoes.
Plants can be used as acoustic materials too. Adding a bit of life to your Zoom background.
Install overhead sound panels on the concrete ceiling to complete your studio set-up

Lighting

Use the natural light coming from your window to enhance your features.

Place LED ring lights to the side and not in front of you to help outline the features of your face. Placing LED ring lights in front of you, flattens your features.

Equipment

Use a multi-camera set-up for your home studio.
A monitor with a swivel arm is your best friend. Allowing you to pivot your camera or move up & down to accommodate your movements. Any articulating piece of equipment at your desk gives you freedom of movement.

Would you like to have your very own home office reviewed by Dolores and Najeeb?

Dolores Pian is a Master Interior Designer that crafts luxury residences, penthouses and purse parking. Successful people seek her expertise to Design Reclaiming Time ©

Because time is their truest luxury.

Drop her an e-mail to say hello and let her know what you thought of this blog post.

Dolores Pian’s blog posts are meant to inform and entertain. Please consult Dolores Pian directly if you need any specific information for your specific spaces.

Joao Mendes, Professional Nomad - Episode 4 – Home Office Design For Success Series Video Recap