Designing and furnishing an office, whether it’s in your home or elsewhere, can be a daunting task, but it should be given plenty of thought. You spend most of business hours there, and you may also get visits from colleagues and clients in your office. Purchasing office furniture and giving your work space a comfortable, professional look is an investment in your work.
Prior to furniture shopping, one should try to make a list of all the items that your office will need. Without an idea of what furniture is essential for your work space, you may end up overspending and buying things you don’t need, which will give your office a cluttered feel. Even before deciding what furniture to buy, one should be sure to consider the following questions.
How many people are going to share the space with you? Do you plan on having visitors, or will there be someone working there with you every day? If you think about this before shopping for furniture, you’ll know how many desks and chairs to purchase, and you can also plan how much empty space the room can have.
It’s also important to know how much work will be done on computer versus on paper. This can help you decide if you need filing cabinets and storage space for papers, and how much space you think you’ll need. It can also help determine how large your desk ought to be. For those who do a lot of paperwork, you probably want a larger desk. If you work mainly on a computer, an average or smaller desk may be preferable and will allow you a little more open space in the room.
You should also consider what kinds of office appliances – such as phone, fax machine, printer, and copier – you will have in the office. For instance, if you plan to have a printer for your own personal use, you will want a desk large enough to accommodate it. On the other hand, if you plan to share a printer with others, you may want a separate desk or shelf for it that’s easily accessible to everyone in the room.
Even if you work at home, setting aside and furnishing some room (like a basement, guest room, or library) can be a worthwhile endeavor. Once it is furnished as an office space, you may find it easier to focus and work there. Without such a space, often people are easily distracted and procrastinate because there is too tenuous a boundary between home and work.
Modular office sets are becoming increasingly popular. Available in natural wood colors as well as black, white, honey and so on, modular furniture can even be customized to fit the spaces of the room that you designate for specific furniture.
In general, the items most people need for their offices are desks, chairs, bookshelves, and filing cabinets or other storage compartments. Additional decorations, plants, and so forth can go a long way in personalizing the space, making it accessible to visitors and comfortable for you. As long as you have a plan in advance that indicates what precisely you require and approximate sizes each piece should be, designing and furnishing your office space will be easier and rewarding.
