Setting Your Home Office With Office Furniture

By: William I. Neil

Whether you are a home-based worker or just happen to have your own office at home, it is important to recreate the business-like ambience of a working environment but with a touch of comfort and coziness. It is important that your office is organized and comfortable in order to go about your work and transactions with more ease. A home office is still an essential ground for conducting business so even if it is situated in your house, a proper design and layout should be considered most especially if you have clients or working partners coming in. The design does not have to be elegant. You can always go for the practical design and accessible layout. But above all, it has to serve as a functional office rather than just a part of your home with a chair, desk, and computer.

In setting your home office with office furniture, a little planning ahead of time can prove very beneficial. Sometimes, envisioning where furniture should be placed is not enough. It is good to sketch your office space and write on paper the equipments, appliances, fixtures and furnishings you want to incorporate into your home office. Doing so can save a lot of time and effort rearranging your stuff within the office space. A lay out plan enables you to place your things in strategic locations within your office and at practical proximity to yourself. Anticipating proper spaces for your appliances and other electronic gadgets so that they will be near electrical outlets is just as important. Planning your office design and lay out on paper also gives you an idea of the appropriate size of furniture you will need so as to avoid overcrowding in your office or making it look crammed.

After deciding on a practical and accessible set up for your furniture, you need to consider the level of comfort of your fixtures next. Your office desk should be big or wide enough for you to write, type, and work on. It needs to have enough space for your feet to move or you will end up with cramps. Be sure that your desk is not too low as for you to stoop and feel discomfort when you read or write documents on it. Your office chair is where you will be spending most of your time in your office sitting on so you would want to make sure that you get a good fit and proper cushion. Choose a chair that you find most comfortable whether it be a swivel chair, has adjustable back, or has adjustable armrest. A leather chair looks elegant in an office but if you are not comfortable with that material, do not force yourself on it. There is a variety of office chairs sold in the market—plastic, metal, wood, and even woven fibers. Adding auxiliary furniture and fixtures such as corner tables, sofa, extra chairs, coffee table, filing cabinets, trays, shelves, and the like is up to you. It is best if they fit in with the theme or color palette of your home office for aesthetic purposes.