Home Office Furnishing

Pick a colour to decorate your home office with - whichever you go for your old work colleagues will be green with envy

As many workers choose to abandon their view of the company car park for a window on their garden, the relevance of the home office and how it is furnished becomes a key issue

Home office furnishing is the entire exercise of transforming the image and plan of the office at home. It involves the furniture, décor and the whole office set-up. This is essential since many people now operate from home and run both private and company activities from there. The home office has therefore become the central hub for many white-collar workers. Accordingly it warrants well-defined planning and decorating to ensure maximum productivity yet still not look out of place in its backdrop - your home. Thought needs to be given to the colour scheme, choice of desks, chairs, fabrics, shelving an general office paraphernalia.

If you have to buy new, it may be a case of 'cheapest is best' and there is certainly a lot of cheap furniture available. However, nothing comes entirely for free and much of this 'budget' furniture is flimsy and not really suited to the demands of office use. If you want to restrict what you pay but, like me, value durability and strength in furniture then why not consider:

Adapting
Use chairs, tables and other furniture that is not really needed elsewhere in the house. If it looks 'tired', perhaps give it some varnish or paint and oil hinges and wheels etc.

Pre-owned
There are many warehouses which dispose of office furniture that belonged to companies which have refurbished, moved location or gone into receivership. Prices are usually very reasonable and it is sometimes possible to buy a really top quality 'big boss' type desk or chair for about the same price as a flimsy new one.

Recycling
Use plastic tubs as file holders, empty jars and containers to hold pens. Make a 'student' desk or shelves with dry-laid bricks and timbers. Find some trays instead of wire baskets and find an unused angle poise light to provide illumination.

Get your family saving paper-clips, bull-dog clips, folders, give-away pens and paper jotting pads. You should not be buying these (expensive) items when they are so readily given away. Next time you are in a bank or department store see if you can get some complimentary pens and other stationery.

There are home office furnishers who can give you advice about furnishing your home office. They will concentrate on the ergonomics of your workstation and see that it offers the maximum in efficiency of working. If you decide to plan and lay out the whole home office yourself then bear in mind that this is not intended to be an extension of a normal company office, this is a work area within your home that is not only a centre of productivity, it is also a benefit and reward for your achievement. For example, my home office looks out onto mountains and fields - in my last employed job my corporate workstation gave me a view of the car park and the factory opposite. Celebrate the improvement that working from home gives you.

Choose neutral warm colours and go for non-aggressive paintings. Peace and tranquillity should welcome any guest who should go away envying your choice of work location - therefore take pride in working from home; it is everyone's dream and not a second-best option. Although you will probably want to make a clear demarcation between what is your home office and what is your home, try to downplay it as far as possible.

It is probably worth getting an electrician in to fit in the power points you will need for your computer, printer, photocopier etc. Extension cables work well but are easy to trip over and visually most unaesthetic - a few well-placed powerpoints and network sockets will give a dramatic improvement to the working environment in your home office.

Good luck with your home office furnishing.