Most of us dream for a home office, whether it’s to work at home comfortably or just give your kids a place to do homework. A home office can provide a quiet and distraction-free work zone. Most of us, however, aren’t lucky enough to have a full room to dedicate to an office, or don’t have the money to fully furnish the perfect office. You don’t need a massive room or lots of money to create an office space for your family. Here are a few tips on how to set that up.
The first step is to simply find an area to set up your office in. This can be anywhere: in your living room, a nook under the stairs, in a wide hallway, even in the baby’s nursery. Ideally you just want a room with enough wall space in order to set up a desk. This should also be an area that is relatively distraction-free. Any room with a TV or where people spend a lot of time walking in and out probably won’t work. Experts typically discourage setting up an office in a bedroom as well since bedrooms should be reserved for relaxation.
There are a few “must have” items you’ll need for a home office, no matter where it is:
- A table or desk
- Good lighting that’s not too hard on the eyes
- Some sort of organization areas: a desk with drawers, a bookcase, shelving, etc.
- Comfortable seating (but not too comfortable — you don’t want to take a nap in your chair!)
- A filing system
Since you’ll likely be sitting in this spot for hours at a time, make sure the space is nice to look at. If possible, position yourself in front of or next to a window. Not only can looking out the window break up the day, but natural light it much more invigorating than artificial light. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a window in your office space, decorate your walls or shelves with artwork, pictures of loved ones or potted plants.
Make items in your office as beautiful as possible. Computers and printers aren’t very nice to look at, but you can always hide the cords to make things look a bit cleaner. Get a fun pencil holder or paper organizer to put on your desk. Switch up the cabinet knobs on your desk to make them a little more unique.
One of the best parts about working at home is that your office is whatever you want it to be. Avoid the stuffy office vibe and really make your office space your own.