Home Office Shelving

Get Creative and Useful Ideas in this Guide To Home Office Furniture and Organization.

Home office shelving is becoming a big issue as more and more people work from home. Many times, this starts out as a sideline, and then develops into a full-time job. Just as often, people continue to work at the dining room table, or on a small desk which is overflowing with work-related materials. Sound familiar?

Home office shelving is a necessary part of working from home. You can't expect to work comfortably without a properly organized office area in your home. Inevitably papers will build up, workbooks, files and office accessories will turn your home into a mess.

Most office equipment is designed for a work-place office. It doesn't work in the home because it feels too "impersonal." The trick here is to find efficient home office shelving and furniture that does all it needs to do as well as look nice in your home.

Planning Your Home Office

When planning your home office consider how much space you'll need, and, more importantly, what kind of space you'll need. Lots of home office shelving is great, but not specific. You should take a good look at all of the things that are going into this office, and then you can come up with a plan of what exactly you'll need. You'll need to take into account:

• Home office shelving
• Files
• Office equipment
• Computers and printers
• Fax machine
• Office chair
• Desk space
• Garbage can and other floor-standing items

I realize that this might sound a little exacting, but it's very frustrating to get sidetracked when you're in the middle of good work because you can't find a hole punch or a pencil. Chances are that you don't have a lot of space for this office, so you have to find the balance balance between space for everything and at the same time not feel cramped.

Of course, it is important in this modern world to take into account all of the wiring that you'll need for your home office. Plugs, telephone jacks and internet connections should all be close to your desk. Also, if you have more than one computer keep in mind the advantages of networking all of the computers of your office. Talk to a local wiring expert about your needs.

Lighting is another essential element of a successful home office. Bad or indirect lights will strain your eyes and detract from the quality of your work.

Being right-handed or left actually should help you to determine the configuration of your office. Arranging your phone, printer, fax machine and file cabinets so they can be easily accessed by your dominant hand is essential to creating a comfortable work environment.

Once you've established a location for your home office and whose needs will need to be met in the office design, the next step is to decide which of the following layouts will be best at maximizing your office space.

• L-shaped layout saves considerable space by fitting into a corner of your room. L-shaped desks are also ergonomical when the computer is place in the center of the L. From this position supplies can easily be reached on both sides of the computer without reaching far. L shaped desks can be used for more than one person if the desk is big enough or the people small enough.
• U-Shaped Layout is better especially if you work with another person, but it does require a significant amount of space. You can create a U-shaped layout with two desks and a joining table if you prefer not to purchase a U-shaped desk.
• T-Shaped Layout is ideal for office space where more than one computer will be in use. The T shape provides individual areas for each person, including shared workspace in the center. The middle leg of the T provides a place for shared equipment like a printer.

Home Office Set-Up

Follow our tips for creating your ideal home office.

For Small Rooms and Nooks:

• Standard Desk A standard desk may be the best choice if your space is limited. Hutches can be added for overhead storage space. Also, if at some point you would like to add onto another desk, many are offered with matching styles to increase your workspace. These additional modular pieces are sold separately.
• Corner Desk A small corner desk can be a great space-saver, taking advantage of a corner that may otherwise be unused.
• Mobile Workstations are great for small rooms or apartments where space is limited. You can roll them out of the way when the workday's over.
• Office Armoires are designed to house a computer, printer, files, books, and CDs. They also have fold-away tables for writing. At the end of the day, close the doors on the armoire and hide everything away.

One of the benefits of working at home is that your office space is designed for you. You can put your personal touch to your office space with your own art, colors, shades and carpets.

One other question that you need to ask yourself; as your business grows might you need to add on an assistant? Would that cause you to go back and reconfigure the entire office? Perhaps you should keep that in mind, as well, when you are designing your home office.

Finding Home Office Shelving and Furniture Online

Once you have a clear idea of your needs, it's time to take a look at what's available to fill those needs. We've done a lot of the research about what's out there, and we've separated the results into 2 general categories:

Home Office Shelving, where you can find out about various shelving solutions, open and closed cabinets, file cabinets, wall-mounted shelves, armoires and bookcases.

and:

Home Office Furniture, where we look at home office desks, computer stations, desk suites, office chairs and accessories.

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