With work from home becoming a distinct reality, an increasing number of people are clamoring to set up personalized home offices. A home office is important for a simple reason - it’s not possible to work from home for too long without a dedicated space. You’ll end up working from your living room couch or an uncomfortable chair and that’s bound to negatively impact your productivity. There’s a reason why professional workplaces are designed a certain way and while it’s difficult to emulate a workplace within the confines of your home, creating a dedicated space is a great first step. The great thing about a home office is the freedom that comes with putting together a workspace that’s meant just for you and doesn’t appear straight out of a corporate factory. You can choose any colors or furniture style you want so long as it helps you work better.
There are a few components you need to make a productive and functional space including the work desk, an ergonomic chair, and a cabinet for your files and other work-related paraphernalia. But there’s more to setting up a comfortable workstation than just the furniture. The location, lighting, and equipment are some of the other factors you must consider when setting up the best home office. Here’s an all-inclusive guide designed to help you build an awesome home office.
Things To Consider When Setting Up A Home Office
Space Talk
In a regular office, you’re assigned a desk or a workspace that’s all yours to help you feel more comfortable and develop a sense of belonging. The same logic applies to your home office where you need to carve out a dedicated space to work from. If you have a lot of space in your home, it could be an entire room or even the basement. But if you’ve limited room in your home, you’ll need to set aside some space for your office. For instance, an unused corner in your living room or bedroom, a part of your dining area, an empty closet, or even the area under the stairs! As long as you’re comfortable and productive, you can be as creative as you want with the location of your workspace.
Privacy, Please!
One of the few perils of working from home is the constant invasion of your privacy and distractions you can’t get away from. This is particularly true when you live with your family and kids who don’t understand the concept of office hours. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a dedicated room you can convert into your home office and lock from the inside during meetings. If you’re creating a workspace within a shared space like a living room or dining area, the best way to separate your work-from-home area is using a privacy divider or a curtain hung from a rod. If you do go with the privacy divider or curtains route, opt for something that blends in perfectly with the existing home decor and doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
Light It Up
Lighting is a crucial part of any workspace and needs to be well thought out when you set up your office space. Most people avoid properly lighting their home office because of the assumption that all the light they need will come from the monitor or the laptop. But the truth is that poor lighting doesn’t just strain your eyes but also impacts your productivity by causing headaches. Ideally, you should set up your workspace in a place that receives plenty of natural light. Natural light doesn’t just help to boost your mood but also enhances your productivity. If natural lighting isn’t possible, getting the right desk or floor lamp can work wonders for your office lighting. Avoid overhead lighting since that can create a glare on your monitor or laptop screen and make it hard to see.
Perfectly Aligned
Since you spend a majority of your waking hours working from a chair, it needs to be as comfortable and ergonomic as possible. Finding the right chair is all about figuring out the correct alignment and height. Your best bet for a perfectly aligned workstation is to get a chair with adjustable height. This allows you to increase or decrease the height of the chair depending on your needs. A few things to note regarding the alignment of the workstation are as follows:
- The monitor must be placed at least 20 inches away from your eyes, or further, if you have a bigger monitor
- The top of the monitor should be approximately below eye level
- The spine should always be in a neutral position
Desk Optimization
The desk is, arguably, the most important component of your home office and needs to be picked out after carefully considering your space, requirements, and budget. A desk that keeps you comfortable throughout the day and helps you be more productive is the basic requirement and depending on your budget, you can choose a desk that is packed with more features. If you’re worried about sitting on a chair all day and straining your back, a standing desk is a perfect option for you. Better yet, bring home an adjustable height desk that can be made shorter or taller according to your requirements.
Out Of Sight
A cluttered workstation is an unproductive workstation. Ensure your home office remains tidy and well organized by opting for file cabinets or drawers where you can store your office belongings like papers, pens, and other general office supplies. If you deal with a lot of paperwork, a file cabinet is a great option to help you keep your files and other important documents safe. Also, keep a small bin near your desk to throw away any clutter that piles up during the day.
When setting up your workspace, you need to consider your requirements and do the best possible job with the space available. While you can’t do much about the space in your home, you can get premium-quality furniture for rent to furnish your workspace without worrying about your budget. CasaOne offers home office furniture from some of the most popular furniture brands at reasonable rates. Check out our home office furniture packages right here or get in touch with our design experts for an in-depth interior design consultation.
Got Questions?
- How to set up a home office?
The first step in setting up a home office is finalizing a dedicated space in your house for the office. Once you have zeroed in on the space, you can start sourcing furniture and working out the most optimal placement. Give your workstation a trial run and make any modifications, if needed.
- How to decorate a home office?
Your workspace needs to be clutter-free to help you improve your productivity. A few distraction-free items you can use to decorate your home office are desk calendars, succulents, small potted plants, neatly organized office supplies, and more.
- How to organize a home office?
The easiest way to organize a home office is by utilizing file cabinets or drawers. You can use file cabinets not just for office supplies but for important work documents as well. Also, place a bin near your work desk for everyday clutter.
- How to design a home office?
You can design a home office by either emulating other workstations you see in an office or get creative and make something that’s completely you. The key to a well-designed home office is proper space utilization and getting furniture that’s both good looking and ergonomic.
- Where to buy a home office desk?
You can buy a home office desk either online or offline from popular furniture brands like Ikea, Ashley Furniture, Herman Miller, and more. If you want to save money and enjoy unparalleled flexibility, you can rent a home office desk from CasaOne and take advantage of our exciting selection of products and customer-friendly benefits.