Setting Up A Home Office

Your home office has to be an efficient work place and also comfortable. The exterior is also important and you should take that into consideration when you are planning your office space. Plan your home office on your power, ventilation and lighting needs. After that you can think about furniture and equipment for your office.

Dos and don'ts

• Do position your office equipment for maximum use. Find the best place for each piece of office equipment and furniture and run through a test before fixing everything. What you use most frequently should be close and easy to access. If you use the phone a lot, you should put it on your desk so that you don’t have to get up to use it.
• Do protect your sensitive equipment, such as computers, from power surges or electrical outages.
• Do organise all cords and wires. Put as much of your telephone wire or CAT5 cable out of sight as possible. If you can't put cables or wires out of harm's way, make sure you tape them down, close to walls, so people aren't in danger of tripping over them.
• Do clear the paths. Home offices are situated in rooms that were not originally designed those uses. Get rid of all unnecessary furniture and clutter in your home office space.
• Do a last check of your work needs and make sure that you have all the office equipment and office furniture that you need to keep you organised and able to work productively and safely.
• Do add a well-placed painting or print or even a corkboard with some photos. Some visual impact can make your office a more appealing space to work. Your personal taste will determine what works best for you, but don't use too many visual distractions.
• Don't be afraid to ask for support from your family or the people you share your house with. Make it so that your kids will not disturb you when you are working.
• Don't be frightened by the costs of working at home, but calculate what it will cost you to have your home office, and be sure you can afford it.
• Don't neglect your comfort, especially concerning your desk chair.
• Don't be superficial about storage space and lighting. Put in as many cubbies and shelves as you can without crowding your workspace too much. Illuminate every work area with separate direct lights.
• Don't set up your office where it is supposed to be; put it where you want it to be.

Advantages and disadvantages of working from home

Working from home can have a number of advantages. These include:

• Saving time on looking for suitable property
• Avoiding to get tied into long tenancy agreements
• Saving on start up costs
• Getting help from family
• Saving on time and money used on travelling to work
• Avoiding distractions of the workplace
• Arranging work around family obligations

There are also some disadvantages from home working too. Problems can appear when you are:

• Interrupted by domestic distractions
• Estimating the initial expense of setting up
• Isolated and lonely separating home and work life

View a useful home office design video from about.com.