A Beginner’s Guide to Designing the Perfect Home Office

When it comes to putting together an office in your own home, it can tricky to know where to start. To find out how to create a workspace that works for you, keep reading.

Choose the right chair

Your office chair is arguably the most important part of your workstation setup, therefore it’s crucial that you spend time choosing the right model for you. Picking the wrong type of chair could seriously harm your health and hinder your productivity, so it’s worth weighing up your options first. In order to find the ideal chair, you should make sure that it has the right features. For example, you should go for a design that offers seat height adjustability so that you can alter the seat to suit your individual requirements. Without this feature, you could end up straining yourself to look at your computer screen, which in turn, could lead to problems such as neck, shoulder and back pain. You should also be able to adjust the seat so that both of your feet are placed firmly on the floor with your wrists and forearms resting on the desk in front of you, and your eyes are level with the top of your monitor. You may also want to look out for a chair that offers lumbar support. This feature refers to the shape of the back section of your chair, and it can help encourage you to adopt a healthy, comfortable sitting position. It provides support to the lower and middle areas of your back, preventing you from feeling sore and achy. Similarly, having a chair with an inbuilt back tilt mechanism is a good idea. This feature allows you to move around in your seat with ease and reposition yourself periodically, as well as giving you the opportunity to adjust the angle of the back section of the chair. It might seem obvious, but you should ensure the model you go for has a thick, padded seat. If you’re comfortable in your chair, you should find that you feel more at ease, and as a result, it’s likely you’ll be more productive. Although they are not absolutely necessary, armrests can provide you with extra support while you work, helping to reduce pressure on your back and easing neck and shoulder tension. To ensure you’re comfortable, the armrests should be padded and adjustable so you can reposition them to a height that suits you.

Select a suitable desk

Once you’ve decided on an office chair, you’ll need a desk to accompany it. Your workstation should be large enough to accommodate all of your equipment but still leave you with plenty of room to carry out your job with ease, so make sure you take size into consideration. It’s also important that you think about the features you’d like your surface to have. For instance, you may want to go for a height adjustable desk. There are a number of health risks related to sitting down for long periods of time, so if you’re keen to put your wellbeing first and have the choice of either sitting or standing, a desk that can be altered might be ideal. You may want to keep an eye out for a desk with inbuilt access ports and concealed wire management sections. These features can help you maintain an organised workstation by allowing you to keep unruly wires tidied away.

Think about your storage options

There’s no doubt you’ll want to keep your home office neat and tidy at all times, so it’s important that you think about your storage options carefully. Fortunately, there are a whole host of different furnishings for you to choose from. So, regardless of the size of the space or your requirements, you shouldn’t struggle to find something that fits. For instance, if you want to be able to keep your documentation organised and within easy reach, a filing cabinet might be the ideal solution. These units are available in a variety of different shapes and sizes, including tall, slimline models and wide lateral designs. You can also choose from cabinets in a selection of different styles, such as traditional wooden units and metal versions. If your office is lacking in square footage, you might need to be more savvy when it comes to selecting your storage. To make the most of the space available, you could go for an under-desk drawer unit. As its name suggests, this unit can tuck neatly underneath your workstation, meaning it’s out of the way but still providing you with the storage you need. In most cases, under-desk units are designed with two or more drawer sections.

Organise your equipment

Now that your workstation is set up, it’s time to organise your equipment. Instead of flinging your stuff down anywhere, it’s vital that you’re strategic when it comes to the arrangement of your desk. In fact, a poorly arranged work area could have an impact on your productivity levels, so it’s worth being strategic. For example, you should make sure your computer monitor or laptop is positioned directly in front of you at about an arm’s length away. If you have a keyboard and mouse, these should be kept in front of you too, no more than six inches away from the edge of the desk. Your keyboard and mouse should be placed next to each other so you can move your hand from one to the other with ease. If you need to have anything else on your desk, such as a paper filing tray or stationery pot, you should ensure that you can reach them without straining yourself. If you can, try to keep clutter on your work surface to an absolute minimum. Having too much stuff could make the area feel chaotic, which in turn could seriously hinder your ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

Add the finishing touches

One of the perks of working from home is that you have full control over what your space looks like, so don’t be afraid to make it your own. Adding a couple of finishing touches here and there could really help turn your office into a place that you actually enjoy spending time in. There are a variety of ways in which you can give your space a little personality. For instance, you could introduce some greenery, such as positioning a large, leafy plant in the corner of the room or adding a selection of petite potted succulents to the windowsill. You could even hang a few pieces of interesting artwork on the walls. As long as you keep these tips in mind, you won’t struggle to create a home office that works perfectly for you.

February 12, 2019 | View: 323 | Categories: home office guide