Make office work for you

A beat-up desk and a small stool crammed into the corner of a room populated with noisy interlopers would be a nightmare work environment at a job, so why would you put up with that at home?

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The home office is as much a part of the modern day household as the garage, laundry room or den, and even a penny pincher can make theirs a professional environment.

"Everyone has a designated area to do work; it's just not always a whole room," said Nancy Kitchens, an Augusta-based interior designer.

Mrs. Kitchens estimates that half the households she works with have fully dedicated offices and the rest have at least a section of a room set aside for paying bills, research, home work and Web surfing.

Experts say that once you know why you need a home office, it's easy to create a productive space.

The first consideration is where the office should go. It's more important if you plan to work out of your home full time, but the same principle holds: the further from distraction (ie: children, television, pets), the better.

Jeff Parrack , the owner of Definitive Designs in Augusta , said location is the biggest concern of clients who want to include office space in their floor plans.

"We had a house where they wanted the playroom where the kids were in the basement and the office was in the bonus room above the garage, so they'd have a complete floor separating them," he said.

In existing homes, extra bedrooms make great offices, walk-in closets are an option, or you can section off an area of a room with a Japanese shoji screen.

Getting started

Before you start looking for basics office components – a desk, chair, lighting, phone and filing cabinet – it's a good idea to set a budget. John Mayo , the owner of Augusta Business Interiors said picking a dollar amount and determining what the office will be used for will drive the rest of the process.

"If it's for a single parent with two children and it has a computer, that may be the area where the bills are done, but it may also be where the kids use the computer, and that makes a big difference," he said.

Lisa Burgess , a senior designer for Corporate Studio in Augusta, said that if you're serious about a home office, start with what you consider your ultimate dream space.

"Get exposed, look around, do some homework and know what you like so you can sort of pick and choose what works together," she said. "Once you expose yourself, you need to have an inventory. People often don't understand how much equipment they're going to need until it's too late."

The right seat

When it comes to chairs, ergonomics are important, but it's not a deal breaker if you only plan to spend an hour a day or less there.

"You don't get the homey look with ergonomic seating," Mrs. Burgess said.

Think you'll be sitting for three hours at a time? Look for a chair that keeps your head and neck upright, lets your arms hang freely and keeps your elbows at a 90 degree angle with your for arms parallel to the floor.

Try out desks

The desk and storage units should be next on the list. It's here that you should spend a little more time opening and closing drawers and cabinets repeatedly. Mrs. Burgess said it's good to get an 18-gauge steel desk.

"You don't have to be a pro at this, if you open and close a range of things, you'll see it," she said. "They all look good on the outside but the guts is where they save the money."

Mr. Mayo agreed that a well-constructed desk is worth a little more money.

"A good desk works with the computer, not against it," he said.

The desk should include grommets or cut outs to direct computer cables away from the desk and into the wall plug and telephone jack.

David Riggans , an interventional radiologist with Vascular Radiology Associates, had worked on the same L-shaped two desk configuration for years, but last year he purchased a dark-brown, high-end OFS U-shaped desk, which features elevated hutches, better lighting and file drawers. With a wireless keyboard and mouse sitting in front of a flat-screen computer monitor and all the wires from the speakers and telephone running discreetly into a cabinet where the computer is kept, his work space is clean and spacious. Between research and bills, he and his wife, Lorelei, spend at least a couple hours a day there.

"I wanted to get something nice I knew I'd use it all the time," he said. "I definitely spent more time on it than a lot of things, but this is something I will have for the rest of my life."

Keeping it homey

Mrs. Kitchens moved her own interior design business from an office into the basement of her home in 1991, so she appreciates how they differ from corporate models. Home offices don't need to stand apart from a house's overall style. Ordinary armoires can contain computers, and cable Internet connections can be set up in the kitchen for a lap top connection.

"A lot of the cabinets we do are file drawers instead of regular drawers," she said. "When you look at it from the front, it looks like a nice cabinet but it's a work space."

Mr. Mayo said there's no perfect setup, but the right hardware and organizational tools can make you as productive at home as at work.

"It's not an art or a science but it' s delicate balance of both," he said. "We have to address the computers and the papers, but we also have to make you comfortable."