A home office can be more than just a place that just lets you pay bills and perhaps bring a little bit of work home with you. The landscape of 21st-century business has more-and-more people working from home and needing a well-designed home office space to maximize their capability.
Whether you are hanging up your own shingle, spending a few days a week working from home, or you just need a place to keep all the bills straight, there are a lot of options to consider.
Selecting The Right Desk
A desk is the beating heart and primary workspace of an effective home office. For some, it might just be a flat horizontal surface to place a laptop. Yet for most people with a home office, a desk needs to have innovative storage, space for technology, and a way to keep everything properly organized.
The first step in finding the right desk starts with taking some careful measurements. This includes the available space in the room, as well as how big of a desk you need. If you are interested in a custom desk you should also take some time thinking about desktop height and available leg space.
Some home offices are relatively small. Especially those that are going to be used as little more than a bill-paying station, or a place to check work emails. In a scenario like this, there are little things you can do to maximize the desktop space and keep things organized.
- Built-in drawers for hanging folders
- Mounting a printer under the desktop of in another area
- Implementing technology with a wireless router or an in-home WiFi network
- Slide-out drawers with built-in dividers
- Built-in overhead shelving
Alternative Desk Spaces
Of course, the modern-day desk doesn’t have to be a static piece of furniture.
A folding desktop can be a great way to make the most out of a small home office space. This could be a great option if you want to occasionally use an alcove or space under the stairs to pay bills and respond to messages.
Standing desks are also increasingly popular. They are a great option for individuals who have back or neck problems, as well as those who simply don’t want to spend all day sitting in the same chair. Many of these units can be raised to a preset height for the times when you want to stand, and then easily lowered again when you want to sit.
Choosing The Right Chair
If you’re going to be sitting at a desk for long hours each day you want to be comfortable. Once you have some of the desk details pinned down, you should turn your attention to finding the right chair. Right off the bat, an office chair might not seem like a big deal.
Yet you might find that the longer you sit in it, the more uncomfortable it becomes. Not only can this be a nuisance, but it can also even start to affect your productivity.
Built-In Bookcases And Filing Cabinets
While many modern documents are now “Digitized” there are still many people who like to keep physical folders and files on hand. While there are prefabricated bookcases and old-fashioned metal filing cases available at the retail level, they typically lack the feel and function of a custom or built-in unit.
In some rooms, cabinets and bookcases can be recessed into the structure of the wall. This can enhance the storage space and highlight the room’s décor while also preserving the room’s overall square footage.
Some families will choose to convert a spare room into a home office with a library space. With these rooms, built-in shelves can be used to house books and display items.
Home Office Lighting Options
The prevailing notion of luxury is that it is defined by light and space. This means that making the most out of a home office’s natural light and installing thoughtful lighting fixtures can make the difference between a shadowy spot where you get a little work done, and a home office that helps you thrive.
Window treatments are also an important part of home office lighting. Laptops, phone screens, flat-screen TV’s and other visual spaces can often suffer from problems with glare from natural light. As the sun shifts through the room, the glare on a computer screen can lead to eye strain and fatigue. Being able to close some blackout curtains can help keep you feeling refreshed and perhaps even spare you from getting an annoying headache.
Overhead lighting can also cause problems with glare. Recessed lights and background accent lights can often be oriented to make sure you can see what you need to see in the room, without also having to squint at your monitor.
Built-In Media And Information Technology
There are some people who prefer to work in absolute silence. Yet for most a little background music, or perhaps a news channel playing on a nearby flat screen is preferable. You might want to also consider setting up a home WiFi network in the office. If you have children who might potentially steal bandwidth, you might want to consider setting up an independent network for the home office, to make sure your system runs at its peak speed.
Professional Design And Installation Services
A home office is a major investment, which means it isn’t necessarily the kind of thing you want to wing on your own. Once you have a decent idea of your available space and your basic needs, Closettec’s designers can help you dial in the kind of custom office solutions that will make you want to work all day.
We have an expansive showroom with desks, chairs, and home office décor items. We are also a family-owned and operated enterprise, so we understand firsthand what it means to effectively blend your home office space while also keeping your family in mind.
Our designers have decades of experience helping people develop the home office of their dreams. We also have highly-trained installation technicians who pride themselves on getting the job done right the first time.
