Home Office Design Ideas

Here are some great tips to make your home office work for you.

• Choose the right place in your home. First thing is to decide where you will situate your home office. If you don't have a room to spare that can be turned into a home office you will need to find a place as far away from family activity and other distractions as possible. Busy areas with potential distractions include anywhere near a television, the kitchen, front door and children's play area. Consider a space under the stairway, the corner of a large bedroom, part of a garage, a corner of the basement. Even a large closet can be converted into a home office. Convert a closet into a home office. If you do not have a dedicated room for your home office then create visual and psychological separation for your home office by using a screen or attractive barrier.
• Plan where your furniture and equipment will go. Home office design ideas suggest that you make a rough floorplan so that you can visualise the layout of your furniture and equipment. Move things around until you have it right. Take ventilation and lighting into consideration. Your home office should have adequate light and air. Artificial ambient lighting should be uniform and only moderately bright. Floor lamps can provide the extra brightness you may need at your desk. Placing the light behind you prevents relection off the computer monitor and reduces eye strain. If you have no windows think about full-spectrum bulbs that simulate sunlight. What about power points and phone jacks? You want to avoid messy extension cords so have these installed if necessary. Include power surge protectors to protect the computer from electrical power outages.

• Organize your space and storage. If you need to buy a new desk find one that's designed to accomodate a desktop computer and printer. A compact filing cabinet and shelves are very useful. There are a wide variety of ready to hang shelving systems available. A small cupboard will keep your office supplies tidy and dust free. You will need to organize your office supplies so that they are easily accessible. If you can't find it you can't use it!
• Find furniture and equipment within your budget. Setting up a functional home office does not have to be expensive. Home office design ideas within a budget include looking for furniture in second hand stores, flea markets, thrift stores, auctions, yard sales and in the classified sections of newspapers.

Consider the equipment you need. For a home business a basic entry desktop is normally adequate. A laser printer works out cheaper in the long run and an LCD monitor is the way to go for clarity as well as being easier on the eyes as there is no reflection. An external back-up system is necessary for optimal safety.

The addition of a scanner and copier will add to the efficiency of your home office. Leasing equipment is also an option. Viral protection is important. A good anti-virus package that is properly installed and regularly updated is essential. Computer viruses are becoming more and more destructive and it takes just one virus to crash your computer.

Buying a reputable anti-virus package is money well spent.

• The telephone. Installing a separate landline for your business is usually worth the investment. Your phone represents your business so it needs to be in good working order with a good answering service. A fax facility via computer is a very useful home business tool. Faxes sent to you arrive in your email inbox in PDF format ready to be printed if need be. You can create extra desk space by hanging the telephone on the wall near you.
• Streamline your office. One of the essential home office design ideas. Your home office should be well organized and clutter free. This helps you to focus on your work. Electronic filing reduces paperwork. Hundreds of documents can be stored on one CD saving both space and paper and printing costs. Limit the things you have in your home office to only what you need to run your business. Remove anything that is irrelevant to your business.
• Think ergonomically. If your office is not set up in an ergonomically correct way you run the risk of backache, headaches, eye strain, wrist injury etc due to poor posture. Bad postural working conditions result in poor productivity and can easily be remedied by placing your equipment in an ergonomically correct way. There are a number of websites that provide details on the optimal placement of your computer monitor and the correct height of your desk and chair.
• Add personal touches Add some personal touches to make this your own personalized, comfortable home office. Some inspiring pictures or posters or a message board can make the space more user-friendly.

Whatever home office design ideas you have remember that above all your home office needs to be comfortable, accessible and practical whether it is an entire room or just a small corner of the house or basement.

Creating a home office when you don't have a separate room

Convert a basement into a home office

Design a home office that works well for you personally and your type of home business. Take into consideration your daily tasks and what you want in your working space.

Use the search box to find what you are looking for.