Home office selection tips

Step 1: ask questions

When selecting a home office, the first thing to do is ask yourself several questions.

1) What style of office am I looking for? Traditional? Contemporary?
2) How often do I use my home office? Every day? Once a week? Rarely?
3) How much storage will I need for my files?
4) Do I need extra seating in the office for clients or children?
5) How big is the room?
6) Do I want a modular office or a desk and hutch?

Step 2: Answer questions from step 1

1) A fairly easy question to answer, most people know what style of furniture they like.

2) This is a very important question. The more you use your home office the better it should be. If you use your office even a moderate amount, the layout becomes more critical. It should be tailored to how YOU use the office. Do you lean back and put your feet up on the desk? Do you sit upright? Do you have a computer with a tower and keyboard and scanner/ copier/ fax that you need proper storage for? Again, the more you use your office the more important this question is. It should feel comfortable for you. Everything that you use often should be within easy reach. If your office experiences heavy use it needs to be well made. You definitely don't want an office falling apart after 6 months of use.

3) Take whatever storage you think you will need and double it, even triple it, you can never have enough storage space.

4) You can bend your office to other uses like an extra TV room, a small meeting area for clients, it just needs to be planned for.

5) Size of the room is important, you won't want the office you place inside to make the room feel cramped. Conversely, you won't want the office to appear tiny for the room.

6) Modulars are nice for a smaller office as they offer more storage for a given amount of floor space, but are not always the answer.

Step 3: Buy your home office

When looking for a home office, you should definitely get the most value from your money. This does not always mean the lowest price. The decision should be governed by expense over time, not only up front price.

People tend to ignore one of the most important factors when buying furniture, and that is "how much do I like it". Saying every day "hey, I really like that office I bought" is very important over time. You don't want to be saying in six months " I should have bought the one I really liked" . In addition, there are write-offs on taxes for home office, check with your accountant or tax representative for the rules.