Creating an efficient home office

Do you have one of those rooms that are too small for just about everything, but needs to be used for everything? You need a home office, a guest room, a craft or sewing room but the only space available is that too small room. It's time to get creative!

By efficiently using the space available - especially the walls you can make this room useful and inviting as well. The first step is to make a list of the functions and activities that will need to be accommodated. Then a list of the gadgets and equipment needed, including furniture and filing or storage needs. Measure all of the existing pieces you own that may be used in the room. Note which items could be replaced by smaller, more efficient pieces.

Now you need to measure the room and put your dimensions on graph paper. One-quarter inch is best and most universal when using furniture templates. If possible, this is the time to have your room empty. It will be easier to imagine the finished space without the clutter of misplaced items piled up. Make sure you measure and note all electrical outlets, cable boxes, light switches and windows, doors and closets. Don't forget to note which way your doors swing.

An important part of home office design is assessing your power needs. Add up the wattage of your office equipment (and related office design features such as lighting). You may be able to cut down on your power needs by "combining" some of your office equipment. For example, instead of having a separate printer, fax, copier and scanner, you could have one multifunction machine that performed all these functions.

Determine the best place for each piece of office furniture and equipment by running through a work test. Whatever you use frequently should be close to hand and easy to access. If it's not, move it.

For instance, if your work involves using the phone a lot, your phone should be in a position where you don't have to get up or reach awkwardly to use it. If your work involves handling and filing a lot of paper, your filing cabinet needs to be close enough that you can get to it with a few steps - or even better, have filing drawers within your desk that are close to hand.

Before you begin the color and decorating aesthetics of your home office design, plug in all your equipment and try to use it, as you would on a normal working day. If you experience electrical danger signs, such as breakers popping or lights dimming when various pieces of equipment are operating have an electrician check your circuitry and see if any simple rewiring can be done. In my experience, houses, especially older houses, are often wired very eccentrically and need electrical updating.

Chances are extremely high that the existing lighting in the proposed location of your small or home office is inadequate for workspace needs. Few residences have rows of fluorescent lights installed, for example, as commercial office spaces do. While you don't need to go that far, you do need to incorporate strong overhead lighting in your home office design - and in many cases, that means purchasing and installing new or additional light fixtures. Various types of track lighting are easy to find and relatively easy to install.

When choosing the lighting for your home office, sit in your proposed workspace and determining how much illumination you need to work efficiently and where the light should be placed. An office with inadequate lighting is not only useless but can lead to all kinds of health problems from headaches through neck and shoulder pain.

Determine the best place for each piece of office equipment and furniture by running through a work test. Whatever you use frequently should be close to hand and easy to access. If it's not, move it.

For instance, if your work involves using the phone a lot, your phone should be in a position where you don't have to get up or reach awkwardly to use it. If your work involves handling and filing a lot of paper, your filing cabinet needs to be close enough that you can get to it with a few steps - or even better, have filing drawers within your desk that are close to hand.

When combining this space with guestroom capabilities my favorite two sleeping ideas are a wall bed or a sofa hide-a-bed. If seating other than the desk chair is needed, the hide-a-bed will serve two needs. If space saving is the priority, the wall bed is the way to go. Just make sure you do critical measurements to assure that the beds will fold out or flip down with a minimum of access around it to make the bed and to get in it.

A well-placed painting or print or even a corkboard with some photos can add some visual punch to your home office design and make your office a more appealing space to work in. Your personal taste will determine what works best for you, but don't clutter up your workspace with too many visual distractions.

Source: Shelley Anderson