Home working has reached a level where it has once again become a major part of the economy. It is especially big in Europe. For example, approximately 4 million residents in the UK work from home necessitating the need to optimise their office spaces in order to improve efficiency, while maximizing comfort and workability. These people know the importance of having a functional office area for conducting business and making work run smoothly. Building the perfect home office requires careful planning and an attention to detail, both of which will help you to make your home office a success.
Anyone can place a desk in the corner of their living room and call it an office, but home offices can and should be much more than that. While the specific design of the office depends largely on your field of work, there are some simple guidelines that can aid in your office design. Some home workers may only require a desk and a small, quiet area in which to work, while others need more elaborate spaces for their home offices. If your business involves meeting clients regularly at your office, you may want to consider adding a separate entrance that leads directly to your office, particularly if it is housed in a separate part of your house like in the garage or basement. If the design of your home prevents you from doing so, make it a point to locate your office in a quiet part of your house that is far away from the distractions of your living areas. You may also want to incorporate a kitchenette or a water closet into your home office to make it friendlier to your clients.
Once you have decided on the location of your home office, you need to play its layout. First of all, take a piece of graph paper and sketch the room to scale, noting where all the doorways, windows, and existing electrical outlets are located. You'll also want to take the time to consider what kind of furniture you are planning to purchase. U and V shaped desks can help you to maximize your workspace. Also, consider buying file cabinets, shelving units, chairs, and tables. Next, think about where you want to place your desk. Make sure that you take into account any windows that can place a glare on your computer monitor, which can cause eye fatigue. Once your desk is in place, you can begin to fill in the rest of the furniture around the desk. Also, make sure that you have enough electrical connections and communications lines including telephone lines and lines for an internet connection that are separate from your personal, home lines.
One aspect of design that many people overlook is lighting. Good lighting is an integral part of any successful design scheme and can make a dramatic difference in the way that a home office looks and the way that it functions. Make sure that your office is well illuminated with abundant overhead lighting that you can compliment with table and desk lamps. Also, take into account the natural light that your room receives, noting if the light from the windows produce any glares that may be distracting. For greater flexibility and control of your lighting environment, consider adding window treatments like blinds and shutters.
Unfortunately, not all people who work at home are blessed with the space to have a separate home office. As with all big home renovations, check with you home and contents insurance provider and your family before starting work! If you do not have enough room for a separate office, you will need to be creative with the use of your existing spaces. Consider setting up an office in the space that is underneath a flight of stairs. You can also choose to convert a closet into a small office or buy a small wardrobe that can be used to house all of your office equipment. Many companies offer lines of furniture and office supplies that have been specifically designed to fit into small spaces. If you must use one of your living spaces for a home office, consider partitioning off a small area to clearly define the boundaries of your workspace. Finally, if you're short on space, considering building a garden shed to house your office. Most of these kits are allowed under Permitted Development and come with many amenities including electricity, telecommunications, security, insulation, and heating.
This is a guest blog by Tony Callaghan from comparethemarket.com, a home finance company.
Photo Credits: foleymo
Originally posted 2010-11-16 19:52:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Review: Welcome Home: A Home Improvement and Decorating Organizer by Christina Poggi and Nick Beilenson Welcome Home: A Home Improvement and Decorating Organizer is released as a three ring binder, with each of its many pages ready to store information about your home. Included are pages for placing contact information for your realtor, repair people, utilities, and other important contact information. It will also help...... -
Some Good Home Improvement Advice There are many points of view from which you can take a look at home improvement advice. When we discuss the different home improvement options, our tendency is to do so from the point of view of most of the people that become handy-capable around the house. That point of...... - How Your House Works by Charlie Wing If you have ever looked at a sink, a lamp or anything in your house and wondered how does that work this book has your answers. Any homeowner can benefit from learning more about how specific appliances and fixtures work, but there are not many resources that put it all......
-
3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Home There are a wide variety of different things that you can do to improve your home. There are probably dozens of small steps that could be taken today to enrich the quality of your home. Here are three simple ways to improve your home, which can be accomplished in as...... -
Wallpaper Tips for Installation There are a lot of reasons to choose wallpaper over paint for the walls in your home. Wallpaper can add a real sense of class to a room with unique and eye-catching designs that a solid color of paint just can’t match. However, if you do opt for wallpaper you......
Related Websites -
Understanding Functional Training One of the latest crazes in the exercise world is functional training. If you're not familiar with this, it targets what you do, and helps you do exercises that will make you better at it. This is a great way to lose weight, since you'll be able to incorporate...... -
Carnival of Careers -- Longest Day of the Year Edition Welcome to the June 23, 2008 edition of carnival of careers. Rich Credit Debt Loan is proud to host this Carnival on the Longest Day of the Year. There were a lot of great submissions choosing only 1 favortie was too difficult... So I selected 6. May your carreers...... -
Learn Landscaping Design to Create Your Tranquil Backyard We have all been in a well landscaped backyard and wondered why our own doesn't look as great. The reason is very simple, landscaping design. Typically the best looking backyards don't just happen, they are well planned and designed before a single bit of work is started. To begin to...... -
Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways If you're looking for handy gadgets, tools and various items that can save you time, money or space (or all three!) this list of more than 80 top products is just what you need. Everyone's got saving money on their minds these days- whether your at the grocery store, or...... -
Creating an Inviting Home Garden with Landscaping Ideas pt 1 If you are really interested in upgrading as well as improving all of the landscaping that encircles and encompasses your home and your garden, but you are struggling in order to determine exactly how and exactly where you should be getting started with such a huge undertaking, then you should......
- Outdoor Solar Path Lighting Outdoor Lighting Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living
- Square Lamps Home Lighting
- Oil Lamps Home Lighting
- Kitchen, Dining Room Furniture, Large Appliances Furniture, Appliances & Fans Collectibles
- Recessed Lighting Lighting Fixtures Home Lighting
Categories:
Guest Blogger, Handy Man, home office
Tags:
0 comments ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment