Creating the Perfect Home Office
There was once a time when the home office was used seldomly but with today’s current climate, there has never been a room in the home that has seen more use over the years exponentially. Of course, with that growth, there are many factors that we now have to consider.
For one, the most important being ergonomics. Gone are the days where you can simply pull up a dining room chair and sit at the desk for a few hours. We now know the importance of an ergonomic office chair. From a drafting chair for architects to the standard desk office chair. There are some things to consider.
The standard desk has also been transformed in recent years with the introduction of the sit stand desk. As I stand here typing this, I know that there is nothing better than having the ability to stand and switch back to the standard desk option at the push of a button, for the many health reasons too which we will get to later. Creating the ideal space in your home to work from is truly such a vital thing and there are some things to consider when setting up shop at home.
Finding the Ideal Space.
Before you even begin to select what office furniture is required, you need to establish what room and how much space you have to play with.
Are you going to be able to use a full room in the house or will you have to create yourself a little study nook tucked neatly somewhere in the house?
These days, study nooks have become increasingly popular and more common, and with the explosion of working from home, there are some amazing desks that are better suited to the nook for their smaller size and charming style. If on the other hand, you have the room and require a larger desk, a home office workstation would be more appropriate. Whichever way you go, you need to make sure it is comfortable and your inspiring spot to work at.
OFFICE DESK
Here is where the fun begins.
There is an abundance of office desk styles, colours, sizes and shapes. From corner workstations to open desks to the sit stand option, there are many ways you can go here.
The standard width sizes are 750mm and 900mm and the lengths range from 1200mm through to 1800mm. In case you have a nook to work with, a smaller 1200mm desk would be better suited.
As the name suggests, these are angled and sit in the corner of the room.
They too are available in many sizes if you need to have it set up there due to the room’s configuration.
If you are lucky enough to have the space, there are options for an electric motor that can raise the desk to your required height, or it being a manual wind up handle that operates the lifting. Either way you go, it is a great choice as the health benefits far outweigh the standard desk option.
- You burn more calories
- It can help improve posture
- Helps relieve back pain
- Has been proven to increase productivity
- Can help boost energy
There are many more benefits, but we’ll leave it at that for now!
Here we recommend Rapidline’s range of electric desks for multi level button memory, colours and size options.
Choosing the right colour / finish to suit your space and design is also an important factor.
Some offer quite unique colours in Appletree through to titanium grey which are exclusive to certain suppliers. If you prefer to go with the standard colours of beech, white and cherry, most suppliers will be able to facilitate.
OFFICE CHAIR
When sitting at a desk (or anywhere for that matter), there truly is nothing more vital than doing so in comfort. Luckily, these days you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on an ergonomic office chair to have the comfort your body requires.
Options of having arms or no arms, mesh/fabric or leather, high back or medium back, these things shouldn’t be overlooked and if possible, have a seat in them to see what feels right for you.
Having an ergonomic office chair offers a variety of benefits and options.
-Lumbar support which helps alleviate any stress and pressure on the back.
-Tilt options which allow you to place your body weight on your legs instead of your lower back.
-By using the lift mechanism, you can adjust the chair to the correct height where your legs reach the ground or footstool, allowing them not to be compressed and aiding in good blood circulation.
Some things to consider:
- High back vs Medium back
Again, these all come down to personal preference but the main point for a high back office chair is the support it gives to your upper back, shoulders and neck.
If you do have a sit stand desk, medium back chairs are a great option as they work well for shorter bursts of time sitting on a chair and also tend to be better suited to tighter spaces.
- To arm or not to arm?!
Having armrests can help with giving you more support to your neck and back, resulting in good posture while sitting for extended amounts of time.
They also can help with moving in and out of the chair with ease.
While there are benefits to having armrests, if your desk and chair height are set up correctly, you can forgo them giving you more space and the ability to wheel the chair in and out of the desk more freely. They also tend to be cheaper than their arm counterparts.
- Fabric/Mesh vs Leather
From the outset, leather lasts much longer and is more durable than fabric.
In most cases, leather is easier to maintain and clean and any spills onto it won’t get stained.
Fabric chairs have a larger range of styles and colours making the office space a little more vibrant. Mesh chairs have more of a breathable back allowing better circulation to the back when sitting for extended hours. They are also cheaper than leather.
STORAGE
Keeping your all important and sensitive documents safe and tidy should be a priority.
With the many options of storage for the home office, picking what’s right for your space is also important in the layout of your room.
Are you looking for a mobile pedestal that you can wheel in and out from under the desk or would you prefer them fixed to the desk itself?
If you have the space, are you looking at a freestanding filing cabinet or stationary cabinet?
Then there is also the option of having a buffet / cupboard.
As above, these come with the option of being fixed to the desk itself or being mobile, allowing you to freely move it around the room giving you more space under the desk. There are the options of filing cabinets or pencil drawers in both.
Choosing a metal filing cabinet over a larger stationary cabinet frees up a little more space in the office allowing for other necessities. You also have the option of how many drawers which in turn determines the height of the storage. Statewide offer a large range of options and a funky range of colours to brighten up the office.
- Full Door Stationary Cabinet.
The grand daddy of storage in the office!
If you have room for one of these bad boys, and if you prefer, you can almost eliminate the need for desk drawer options as they are large enough to store most, if not all your office files and goodies.
The standard bookcase isn’t as standard anymore. There are many ways you can approach the bookcase these days. From having an overhead hutch sitting right on your desk, turning it into a bookcase, to a multi tiered freestanding bookcase with many colour options, to even approaching a nook with something like a smaller 3 tier rustic bookcase. Use your space to your advantage.
Here we have a lovely 3 tier rustic bookcase that will bring charisma to your nook.
CORKBOARD / WHITEBOARD
Having a place to throw down ideas and brainstorm is the ideal way to harness creativity.
Being able to then visually see your next steps is extremely beneficial to whatever type of work you undertake. Something as simple as a whiteboard or corkboard allows you to brainstorm with ease. Corkboards also work well as a place to pin photos or anything else that may give you inspiration while you work.
If you are nestled in a smaller nook, you can have a perfectly sized whiteboard from as small as 450mm x 600mm. On the flipside of that, there are massive 3.6m wide whiteboards to really knuckle down with some string theory math!
Another great option is a mobile whiteboard that you can move in and out of the office when not in use.
Beneficial for those all important zoom calls as you can set your whiteboard up for presentations, even taking advantage of it being magnetic and using it for charts or any other important information you need to get across.
Corkboards are extremely easy to maintain as they barely require any surface cleaning since they don’t tend to absorb stains or dust. Being cork, they are natural and chemical free making them a safe option.
Similar to the whiteboard, the corkboard is a perfect place to draw inspiration upon, however, you can have the important ideas fixed more permanently as opposed to the whiteboard where you generally write / draw down ideas then clean off.
If you have the space for a larger corkboard, they can actually help absorb the sound as cork is a natural way to do so. A large enough one can help reduce the noise coming through another room.
ACCESSORIES
There are some other “Knick Knacks” so to speak in the world of office furniture that can help create that perfect space. While there are many decorative ideas to help beautify your office, there are some more crucial accessories that serve a functional purpose.
One is the control of your cables through a cable basket which can sit behind the desk and tidy everything up instead of the desk looking like a tangled spider web of cables. Perfect for those who have many pc peripherals or multiple monitor setups which leads us to monitor arms.
Mounted monitor arms are another vital piece of kit that can help clean the desk up and make your space more inviting and minimal. Whether you have 2 , 3 or even 4 monitors, there are options to suit.
Greenery. Adding a planter box in the office has been proven to filter the air, reduce stress, and even increase productivity. At the same time adding life to your special place. Something that is much needed if your home office is too clinical.
Chair mats come in two types. One to protect the hard flooring under the chair, whether it’s tiles, or floorboards and the other is to protect the carpeted surface from wear, increasing the lifespan of your carpet. A chair mat is made from a thick plastic and aids in wheeling the chair from under the desk, eliminating carpet indentation. They come in a smaller and larger size making the choice for either your nook or larger office easier.
These fundamental ideas should help turn your office space into the perfect productivity room. Who knows, you may even turn your ideas into the next Lord of the Rings and be remembered for eons. Just don’t forget who helped you in achieving that.