Furnishing A Functional Home Office

If you are one of the millions of people (and more are being added every year) who work from home or even if you bring work home with you, you need to have a nicely furnished home office. Your plan for the office should be functional and comfortable; you want to combine the "get to work!" feel of the cubical with that relaxed feeling that can only come from working in the home.

Here are a few ideas we put together to help you achieve this.

• Start from the entrance in! Believe it or not, a door can make a huge difference to the feel of your office. W recommend a door with a glass middle. This way, you can shut it for privacy without feeling as though you have lost contact with the rest of your house; catching a glimpse of your kids running by can really lower your stress level. Best of all, you won't have to put up with people knocking if you are on the phone; they can see that you can't be disturbed!
• Buy an ergonomic desk. People who work at home tend to spend a lot of time on their computers, and it is absolutely critical that your desk and your entire computer set up is measured to prevent repetitive motion injuries. I prefer a desk that sits with at least two feet between the edges and the walls on either side, with enough room to slide a chair a little bit back and forth to shake the ideas out. There should also be room on the desk for the tower of your computer; you will probably need to access all those ports at some point, and it can be a real pain to get on the floor to do it every time!
• Get an ergonomic chair! A nicely padded, adjustable chair can make you feel as though you aren't really working at all. In addition, it will help you to avoid future aches and pains.
• Have a bulletin board. In many respects the computer has taken over many of the functions left to office "furniture". They include calendars which can be programmed to remind you of important dates and so on, but they can't keep pictures of your family and friends where you can see them as you work. These can be important parts of getting any working person through the day, so personalize your office a little bit with the addition of a bulletin board.
• Bookcases along the walls. Even if you don't need a lot of books for reference at your job, having books lining the walls definitely gives the home office a professional feel.
• Don't forget the waste paper basket!
  

Those are a few of the ideas that many people incorporate into their home offices which combine for a great combination of the professional and comfortable feels. Of course, some home offices will also include additional furnishing in order to communicate with customers and clients.

By: Leslie Gerard