Whether you have recently moved and found yourself with an ‘extra’ room or whether you are changing the use of a guest bedroom, a conservatory or a disused dining room to a home office there are several elements to ponder at the planning stage…
Usage
Who? What? When?
Who? Will anyone else in the household or family use the space? Can you share?
What? What will the office be used for?
When? When will the office be used?
- Infrequently: is the space for paying household bills, light paperwork or occasional internet use?
- Occasionally: do you occasionally work from home? Perhaps you are an office worker and work from home a day or two a week. A self-employed tradesman or a complementary therapist needing a base to complete your paperwork.
- Full-time: are you planning on full-time deskwork from home?
Electric
- Have you enough sockets? Think about the equipment you will need: computer, printer, scanner or small photocopier….
- Is the lighting adequate? If not, will you need extra overhead lights or will you use desk lamps?
- Do you need a phone? Internet?
Space
You may have an empty room now but you need to work comfortably.
What type of desk do you need? Have you a laptop or a desktop computer? Will you require writing space?
- Where will you locate your desk and chair to have optimum room to move at the desk?
- So the electrician has provided extra sockets for that printer, scanner and telephone but have you space for all of those on your desk? Will you require a printer storage cabinet or CPU storage?
- Are you going to require a file cabinet? Think about your office storage. Would a small pedestal that could fit under the desk suffice or will you require a much larger file cabinet? Perhaps a desk with a filing drawer would suffice.
- Have you many research books or file folders? Do you need a bookcase or would a storage cupboard be more appropriate?
- Are you starting your own business? As the business grows can you adapt the space to include additional storage or equipment as required?
Taking the time to plan in advance will ensure the smooth running of your future home office!
