With a growing number of Americans working from home each year, there are many homeowners who are considering having home offices built, if they don’t already have them. If you have a spare guest room, this might seem like the most logical place for your home office. If you don’t have an extra room, you might be wondering how you can squeeze a home office into the space you have available. Whether you have a dedicated room, more than one room to choose from, or your pick of corners that are part of other rooms, here are some considerations to keep in mind when choosing a spot for your home office:
- Find a way to close yourself off from the rest of the house.
If you are working from home, then you will need to sometimes separate yourself from whatever else is going on in the house. This is more important if you have children, and less important if you live alone or with one other (quiet) adult. Even if you do live alone, however, it might benefit you psychologically if you can shut the door and pretend that the stack of dishes in the sink or the full hamper does not exist. Just as important is the fact that you can close the office door when you leave, mentally leaving work behind for the evening or during the weekends. If you don’t have a room with a door, consider a privacy screen or hanging beads, if that would work. If not, consider turning a closet into an office, here are some amazing examples from Houzz. This won’t give you privacy while you work, but it will still allow you to hide your office behind closed doors when you are done.
- Think about the physical environment in various areas of your house.
Depending on how your home is situated, you may have one area of your home that tends to get too hot or too cold as the day wears on. Think about this when you are deciding where to place your office. Even if you don’t have much choice in where your office will be, you can still use this information to determine which direction you will want your desk facing. If your office window faces north, for example, the room may be cooler. During the winter months, you might be thankful for having your desk situated near the heater. On the contrary, if your office window faces south, putting your desk in the corner of the room farthest the window might make the most sense, particularly if your area has hot and sunny summers.
- Walk yourself through a typical workday to be sure that your chosen space will work.
There are some little things that can make your day more difficult than it needs to be. One is electrical outlets, or a lack thereof. If you don’t have enough outlets to plug in your computer, your phone charger, your printer and whatever else you need to, you’ll be constantly frustrated. Another is cell phone reception. If you use your cellphone as your primary communication device, then you will need it to get a good signal in your home office. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself dropping calls or having to walk through the living areas in an attempt to get better reception. Particularly if you have kids or pets running around, this does not make a professional impression! Be sure that you have a place to store paper, files and other necessities, too.
If you are just starting off in your home-based business or with telecommuting, it might be a good idea to try several areas of the house out as a home office, if that’s feasible. If it’s not, at least keep the above considerations in mind so that you can be as productive as possible with a minimal amount of stress and hassle! Check some examples from Closet Renovators!
AUTHOR BIO:
Author is Scot Schrager https://www.facebook.com/ClosetRenovators/. Scot is the Owner of Closet Renovators and serves the Washington Dc and surrounding areas. Closet Renovators specializes in custom closets and storage organizer systems.
