Home Office
Tips For Decorating your home office
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of people in the US that work from home. Some of them have started their own businesses, some may telecommute from a distant location, others work from home to take care of children or relatives. A Home Office is a necessity to stay organized and get work tasks done. It’s also important that you feel comfortable, relaxed and calm in your work station, so you can be as more efficient as possible. If you are considering to work from home or need to remodel your home office so you can get things done, read the following tips.
1- Color: you might want to choose a color that fits to the kind of business and industry you are into. If you are a lawyer or an attorney, you might want to choose a neutral color like white or cream. Rich colors like red or burgundy gives energy to the office environment, cold colors like green or blue give a different effect of peace, calmness and tranquility. It’s also important that you choose a high quality paint that can last for a long time so you will not have to spend money to repaint it;
2- Furniture: choosing the right furniture is really important when you need to decorate your home office because they will determinate how it will look like. Make sure that whatever furniture you choose, they all have to match with the wallpaper or the color of the wall paint. A good advice is to decorate it with furniture that all have the same style and design. Mismatching is bad because it gives a sense of no taste and a not professional environment;
3- Placing: the best place to set up your desk or working station is close to the window, possible in front of it. This will allow you to use as natural light as possible which will make you work with a more focused mind and at the same time will make you save money. Having something nice and pleasant to when you look out of the window might make you more productive and efficient.
4- Ergonomic: you should consider to buy ergonomic furniture for your new office. In this way you will be more comfortable and you will have less chance to suffer for eye, back and arm strain.
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Components of a Home Office
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
Your home office can really be anything you make of it. Whether you just use the spare bedroom and purchase a desk for it or fully convert the den into an office, library, and meeting space, you will likely want some form of home office furnishings.
One thing that any efficient home office will require is decent lighting. Productivity increases dramatically when there is good lighting. This doesn’t mean the brightest fluorescent lights possible; it means bright lighting which doesn’t cause eye strain. While lights are a functional design aspect, they also serve decorative purposes. Consider this another part of home office decorating. Your home office décor should be relatively similar to your field of work. For example, if you are an architect, purchase lights with funky designs to keep you inspired. If you have a more formal profession, stick with traditional lamps.
Your home office furniture is also important to the overall productivity you experience. While you can definitely use pieces from your home, if you wish to distinguish your home office as an independent work space you may want to purchase professional quality office furniture. Depending on the frequency of which you use your office you may not need the expensive ergonomic office furniture, but if this is your main work station it is worth the investment. If you provide client consultations in your home definitely splurge on comfortable seating arrangements for guests as well.
Besides the basic home office furnishings, you may want to take your office to another level. Creating your own library through installed bookshelves will signify a very educated and intellectual environment. Depending on your line of work you may also want a creative work station. If your work is very tech-savvy you may also consider having a technology corner for faxing, scanning, and other electronic devices. Creating different areas for your work space will keep your organized and looking professional as well.
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Uses for the Extra Bedroom: Beyond the Home Office
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
The extra bedroom in a home usually gets labeled as either the guest bedroom or the home office, or sometimes even both! If you aren’t getting use out of your home office or don’t have visitors frequently enough to warrant a guest bedroom you should consider renovating the space for other projects. Don’t let a room go idle when you could spend a weekend and transform it into a useful addition to your home.
Think about your hobbies and interests. Are you confined to the garage for your model car building or is your sewing basket pushed out of sight? By giving a defined space for your pastimes you might find yourself spending more time doing the things you enjoy. So what are some possible home office designs?
If you have a musically oriented family you could convert that obsolete home office into a music studio. Store your instruments and equipment all in one room. Embody the musical theme of the room by framing vinyl record covers and hanging them on the wall. For a cheaper, quick-fix decorating solution just hang posters of your favorite artists.
Create an arts-and-crafts room that is great for everyone in the family – from children to adults. Make it mess-free with home office storage solutions like plastic tubs and baskets. Get your crafts organized this way. Also have plastic tarps tucked away for painting days to prevent splatter. You can use home office furnishings like desks for scrapbooking space or model building. Add a comfy chair for a knitting area.
Renovate your home office into a practical space for your family. If you don’t have any hobbies use it as a large storage closet where you can organize your things. This way the holiday decorations are more convenient than the attic and not exposed to the elements like in the garage. Keep your belongings organized though to avoid the room becoming a dump for miscellaneous odds and ends.
Transform the home office and make it useful again!
