Foran Interior Design

18 Apr Working From Home? How to have a Functional Home Office.

Posted at 11:00h in Home office ideas by Michael Foran

What is most important in a functional home office?

Are you now working from home?. It can be a big transition. You need an office that allows you to be organized and will inspire you to get your work done.

What is important in a Home Office?

Organization and designed around how you work
Work surface and storage
Room for computer, printer and other equipment
Office environment that makes you want to work
Good lighting and comfortable seating

Not everyone’s job is the same, so each Home Office needs to be designed around how you work and what type of environment will be conducive to you being productive.

1.Organization and Design

When I work with someone regarding their office I always ask them questions about how they work. What is their process as they go through the day?. Do they mostly work on the computer and do Zoom meetings or are they project and paperwork driven?. Do they just work from home some of the time and also want to use the room for a den?. A lot of thought and planning needs to go into designing a home office. You can get a lot more done when you are organized.

This CAD photo of an office shows the use of magazine holders to organize projects.

2. Work surface and storage

After analyzing how you work, you need to plan for enough surface area and storage. Do you need to spread out a project? How much file storage do you need? Where are you going to store office supplies?

3. Room for equipment

Where is your computer going to go? Do you need room next to it to spread out papers?. Is your printer in a convenient place?.

4. Office environment

Is your Home Office conducive to you being productive? This sometimes gets over looked, but may be the most important concept to good office design. Distractions can stop you from being productive. A soft off-white or a light blue-grey color would be a good choice for the paint on the walls in your office.

Your office should have a door and maybe a lock. If you are doing video meetings, then you should have a nice background to show a professional image to your customer or boss.

This office would be a great place for a video meeting

5. Good lighting and comfortable seating

Good lighting is very important. It is nice to have natural sunlight, but you also need to think about completing a project late at night. You should have plenty of general lighting. General light should fill the room with light but without glare and shadows. Task light should be a desk lamp that will put the light on your work surface and not in your eyes

. The most important seating in your office is of course your desk chair. You need an ergonomic chair. You should be able to sit in it all day without discomfort. It should have good back support and be adjustable. This is a good area to spend some money.