Whether you work at home, plan on working at home, or simply need a place where you can take care of the household finances or finish that work you brought from the office, it pays to plan. Here are some guidelines to help you create a home office you’ll be happy with.
No matter how open concept the rest of your house, it’s a good idea to put your office in a separate section — behind closed doors. This keeps the sounds of household activity from disturbing you or distracting you (you know, that daytime TV show you’d never ever watch, unless of course you happened by it, while, uh, getting a coffee.) It also makes it easier for family members to remember that this area is off limits till closing time. On the other hand, you can shut the door at the end of the day and not see all that work staring at you. Options: a spare bedroom, the basement, the attic.
Consider your desk position before you start adding shelves, lighting and wiring. You may want to have the window behind you, to give you added light on the desk while working. When thinking about desk position, try and allow easy access to the back panel of the computer — you know, where all those cables are plugged in.
Plan the lighting carefully. Decide where you’ll be working and where you want good task lighting and adequate overhead lighting. Just because it’s an office doesn’t mean you need to use fluorescents… consider a variety of attractive fixtures in key areas.
More ideas next time.