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4 Ways to Create an Inspirational Home Office

April 12, 2012 By

What I don’t miss about a corporate office is having a standard-issue office that looks the same as everyone else’s office. When I was a corporate employee, my desk accessories were smoke gray, my desk with a return was tan and nondescript, and my guest chairs looked like something from my dentist’s office.

Working from home has changed all that. My home office has a mocha-color L-shape desk, a comfy animal print chair, family pictures and two bookcases.

One of the best parts about working from home is that your home office can reflect your style and taste. Just as you don’t have to wear a suit or dress to work, you don’t have to have a home office that matches your corporate counterparts. Instead, consider these four ways to make your home office reflect your needs and taste.

1. Bring your family into your office

Some companies don’t allow personal items anywhere in an office. When you work from home, adding artwork and personal photos can warm up and improve the overall look of where you work.

The perfect resource for artwork is right under your nose — just ask your children. Your budding Picasso or Annie Leibovitz can provide inspirational art and photos for every wall of your home office.

If you don’t have access to kid art, frame photos from your last vacation. The photos will add a bit of color and interest to your home office and you’ll always have a reminder of the great time you had on vacation.

To read the rest of my guest post on MichelleShaeffer.com, click here.

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How to Create a Client-Ready Home Office

March 13, 2012 By 16 Comments

Clients don’t ever come to my home office. I’d invite them, but it doesn’t make sense for them to come over. Instead, I need to be able to see their home before I can design a home office for them.

Before you invite a client to meet with you in your home office, consider these tips.

Put your stuff away

No one (especially clients) wants to see laundry baskets overflowing with dirty clothes, toys all over the floor, and newspapers that haven’t made it to the recycling bin. If you’re in a hurry, shove stuff in closets until you can put everything away where it belongs. I’m not advocating disorganization, but sometimes last-minute client meetings require desperate measures. [Read more...]

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How to Make Working From Home Painless

February 23, 2012 By 22 Comments

working from home Before I started this blog, I rarely spent more than a couple of hours at a time sitting at my desk. As much I enjoy working on WorkingNaked.com, after several hours at a stretch, I have to admit that sometimes it’s a pain in the neck…literally. I’ve made a few changes in my office to give my back, neck, wrists and even my eyes a break.

If you’re feeling the wear and tear of sitting in front of a computer all day, there are a few simple changes you can make.

Use an adjustable office chair

If you’re reading this blog post while sitting in a chair from your dining room or kitchen set, considering making a chair change today. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a chair that adjusts to the right height and reduces the strain on your body. Make sure that whatever chair you buy has a few options including:

1) Lumbar support to reduce the strain on your lower back

2) A waterfall seat where the front edge of the seat is rounded to help you prevent any problems with circulation and to reduce the compression of nerves behind your knees

3) Seat height and back height adjustments

4) Tilt mechanisms and tilt lock to reduce strain and fatigue of your leg muscles

5) Tension control that adjusts to your body weight for easier reclining. (Steelcase chairs are reasonably priced and usually fit the decor of any home office.)

Avoid back strain

Keep frequently-used equipment and supplies within reach to avoid straining your back. Rather than play a game of Twister to grab what you need, store items logically and within reach. You can add shelves above or near your desk, or a desktop holder to keep supplies nearby.

Choose the right lighting

A good way to reduce eyestrain and fatigue is to use one or several types of lighting. Your options include ambient or general lighting, natural lighting, and task lighting. The type of lighting you use depends on the tasks you’ll be doing. Use one or a combination of these types of lighting to give you the right amount of light for your home office.

Find the right tools

You’ll reduce the risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by using an ergonomic wrist rest, mouse, and adjustable and articulating keyboard. Wrist and mouse rests — Fellowes is one of my favorite brands — are made from foam-like and gel materials, and are available in interesting colors and patterns. If your monitor is too low, use a monitor riser to bring it to a more comfortable level.  The first clue that your monitor or laptop are at the wrong height is when you feel a constant pain in your neck.

Along with making ergonomic changes to your home office, take breaks throughout the day to give your wrist (and your entire body) a break from being in the same position for a long period of time. After all, working from home is supposed to be pleasurable, not painful.

What do you do to make working from home more comfortable?

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4 Ways to Make Your Home Office More Functional

February 9, 2012 By 13 Comments

Home offices are notorious dumping grounds for furniture that doesn’t fit anywhere else (either style-wise or physically). Whenever someone remodels their home, the odd chair or wobbly table usually ends up in their home office. Most of the time the extra furniture is in the way and leaves little room to move around. Sound familiar?

The right furniture, combined with a little creativity (and the right tips), can help you make the most of your home office space. [Read more...]

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All Dressed Up: Ready for the Next Event

February 6, 2012 By 5 Comments

Being an event planner takes organizing skills, a good design sense and loads of creativity. Event planner Bill Robertson’s home office reflects those skills and more.

A few years ago Bill bought a home, and as part of the renovation he added a home office. His contemporary home office includes a functional U-shape workspace. He uses the surface to the right of his desk to hold his printers, and the shelves below to store extra paper. Behind his desk is a long credenza with plenty of file drawers and supply storage. The exposed, yet painted brick behind his credenza, blends in well with the overall design.

Across from his desk is a seating area that includes a few chairs and a sofa to meet with his staff. One of the best parts of his office is the row of windows that overlook his three-acre backyard. On nicer days, Bill works on his patio surrounded by beautiful landscaping.

Bill plans to expand his staff this year to handle his growing number of clients. Sounds like a good plan.

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What’s On Your Home Office Desk?

January 26, 2012 By 4 Comments

No matter how you interpret what Working Naked means, it doesn’t mean that your desk has to be bare. The picture below inspired me to find out what other people have on their desks that have nothing to do with work. A desk that’s all work and no play, can make any home office desk dull.

lock dog stapler clock

source: Tom Newby Photography

[Read more...]

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All Dressed Up: Reservations Required

January 16, 2012 By 17 Comments

What do you do when you don’t cook or eat at home, but you need to set up a home office? You may do exactly what entrepreneur and author Mandy Williams (aka Black of Red & Black) did, and convert your dining room into a home office. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office design, Home office organizing, Home office products, Home office setup, Working at home

Making Your Guest Room Do Double Duty as a Home Office

November 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A guest room is ideal when family, friends and relatives stay with you, but what about the rest of the year when it sits empty?  Depending on how often you have overnight guests, a guest bedroom can be the perfect room to set up a home office.

The three home offices below are small, but have enough space for a desk, a file cabinet or rolling file cart and a twin bed or a double bed. Throughout the years that I’ve been designing and organizing home offices, I’ve learned that size doesn’t matter. A 20’ x 20’ home office is just as functional as a 10’ x 10’ office. It’s all in the way you use the space. [Read more...]

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All Dressed Up: A Working Naked Update

November 17, 2011 By 20 Comments

One of my favorite parts of this site is the All Dressed Up page. I feature all types of home offices to inspire you to change, update or tweak your own home office. The only problem with sorting through all of these photos of home offices that I’ve designed and others have designed, is that they make me want to change my own home office…often.

So, I’ve redesigned my home office again.

I started my home office makeover from the ground up, by adding a new rug with circles in different colors and sizes. Whether you pick an area rug, wall-to-wall carpeting, or keep the floor bare, keep sound reduction in mind to avoid the “cave effect” when you’re on the phone.

Normally, my next step would have been to pick out furniture, but since my furniture is fairly new I used the desk and bookcases I already had in my home office. My desk with a return gives me plenty of room for my laptop, external hard drive, all-in-one and lamp. I use the keyboard drawer to hold extra printer paper, and the cabinet that was meant to hold a CPU is perfect for storing extra supplies.

I bought two chairs at my favorite commercial furniture store. One is an animal print chair for reading, and the other is a tan desk chair. Behind and next to my reading chair are an iron floor lamp and a small round table.

I had installed the woven shade last year, but to soften the room I added striped drapery panels. The artwork that was next to the window was boring, so to add a bit of color and interest I found a print from a site that features works from independent artists. Rather than buy the print already framed, I had it framed locally.

Next, I replaced my ceiling fan (it came with the house) with a beautiful pendant. Then I added a few more things to my desk including a multi-circle frame and three jars to hold paper clips, rubber bands and markers.

My new home office is exactly the look I’ve wanted for awhile. It suits me perfectly for now, but I may need to stop looking at so many home office photos!

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All Dressed Up: Creative and Clutter-Free

September 28, 2011 By 4 Comments

Some people think that if you’re creative, you can’t be organized. Watercolor artist Laura Trevey proves them wrong.

Her perfectly organized yet creative art studio/home office includes a custom island designed by Laura, with shelves wide enough to store 26” x 40” watercolor paper. Most of the time the island is in the center of the room, but casters on the bottom of the island make it easy for Laura to move it anywhere. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office design, Home office setup, Working at home Tagged With: ,
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