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Ideas for Organizing a Home Office
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Overview
Home offices have become increasingly pervasive as employers and employees alike look to cut expenses through telecommuting. Done right, a home office can provide a convenient workplace (or just a designated space to pay your bills) without interfering with the living area. Whether you have a large or small work area, a big or limited budget, you can maximize space and create a pleasant work environment that shuts down at day's end.
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Decor
To create an efficient home working environment, you must invest in furniture. You will need a desk, chair, phone, computer and associated equipment, filing cabinets and a storage unit. If your space does not bring in natural light, install overhead lighting, positioned either behind or to the side of your primary line of vision (see References.)
If space is tight, vertical shelves can help maximize an area's functionality. To free up some floor space for a small desk, organize office supplies and files on shelves
If the home office must be part of your living space, consider ways to separate the two areas. When HGTV designed a loft, for instance, it separated the seating area from the office space with bamboo planters, and introduced a color scheme of bright green, brown and cream to create a warm and comfortable living and work space (see hgtv.com/decorating/colorful-home-office/pictures/index.html).
If you must find office space in your home's living area, experts suggest, convert the dining room as a first option but steer clear of the bedroom at all costs. Working in the same room in which you sleep, it's said, can interrupt rest.
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Design
Maximizing your office space can create a more-efficient work environment. A May 2009 article on the WomensMedia.com website suggests arranging the furniture to give you a peripheral view of anyone entering or leaving the room, especially if you host clients. The article goes on to suggest a couple of layout ideas:
First, in an L-shaped configuration, a primary surface, usually the desk, is positioned at a 90-degree angle to an auxiliary surface, perhaps a computer stand, at the left or right. The second arrangement, a parallel layout, lines up the desk with a storage unit or file cabinet. Angling the furniture is discouraged, since it takes away from the work surface and creates sharp corners that can impede movement.
