Home office furniture

Home Office Furniture Doesn’t Have to be Expensive

August 17, 2011 By Lisa 10 Comments

Photo courtesy of Sligh

When I bought my first home office desk several years ago, it fell apart after I moved it three times. I definitely got what I paid for…almost nothing. I replaced it with a desk that cost a bit more, but it was reliable and functional.

As the number of home offices has continued to grow, so has the quality of home office furniture. Finally, there are plenty of home office furniture options available and the days of dealing with cheap, flimsy home office furniture are over.

Whether you’re setting up a home office for the first time, or you’ve decided it’s time to replace your existing furniture, you don’t have to spend a fortune. In fact, you may not have to spend any money at all. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office design, Home office products, Home office setup, Working at home Tagged With: Home office furniture, Home Office Tips

5 Things to Look for in a Desk

March 7, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

This Pottery Barn desk makes good use of a corner.

A desk is a desk is a desk, right? Not so fast…and not so much.

My L-shape desk (a desk with a return) is better than any desk I ever used in the corporate world. It has two deep file drawers, extra drawers for supplies and a pullout keyboard drawer that I use to hold paper. It not only looks good, it works well for me too.

Your desk may take up too much room in your home office (the bruises on your thighs from running into it are a sure sign) or it may be so small that when you put a card [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office products, Working at home Tagged With: Home office furniture, Home Office Tips, working from home

All Dressed Up: New Year, New Home Office

January 14, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Some people spend New Year’s weekend relaxing, thinking about what’s ahead and maybe even nursing a hangover from the best New Year’s party ever. Not business and marketing coach, Debbie LaChusa.

Over the New Year’s weekend, she “seriously decluttered, repainted and redecorated” her home office.

The medals she earned from two marathons, the Minnie Mouse drawing by her daughter and the SUCCESS magazine [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office design, Home office organizing Tagged With: Debbie LaChusa, Home office design, Home office furniture, home office set up

Making Old Furniture Serve New Purposes

May 12, 2010 By Lisa

We’ve all inherited furniture from family or friends. Or we’ve had to make up an excuse for why we don’t need an ugly, scratched desk or a chair that isn’t nice enough for the Salvation Army. If you’re lucky, you can inherit a fabulous piece of furniture that serves several functions, especially within a home office, or you can make your existing furniture become more functional.

Interior Designer Melinda Miles and her husband inherited a pharmacy supply cabinet that had been in their family for years. The quarter-sawn oak cabinet started out in an old, turn-of-the-century drugstore and held pharmacy supplies. Miles realized that these drawers, with the labels for the pharmaceutical products still attached, were the perfect size for DVD and supply storage within her home office. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office products, Home office setup, Working at home Tagged With: Home office furniture, Home office products, Home office setup, working form home

You Don’t Have to Feel Boxed-in With a Computer Cabinet

May 5, 2010 By Lisa

This computer cabinet from Hooker Furniture includes a drop-down desk, file drawer and pullout keyboard and printer shelves.

A computer cabinet, armoire or an “office-in-a-box” — they’re all the same thing — offer more storage shelves and file drawers than before. Between white boards, drawers and extra storage bins in the door, armoires are filled with function. As with anything, including furniture, there are always advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:
•Compact and ideal for when space is limited
•You can close the doors at the end of the day
•All of your equipment fits inside
•Some have drop-down desks and file cabinets that roll inside
•It can blend in with the rest of your home

Disadvantages:
•Not all cabinets have legroom
•There’s not always enough space to spread out papers
•There’s limited filing space so you’ll need a cabinet nearby

Something to think about: If you decide to buy a computer cabinet or any other home office furniture, plan ahead and measure your space. One of my client’s enthusiasm for a new computer cabinet was squelched when she realized on delivery day that the cabinet she bought couldn’t make the turn at the top of the stairs.

Filed Under: Home office design, Home office products, Home office setup, Working at home Tagged With: computer cabinet, Home office, Home office furniture, Home Office Tips, working from home

Power is Good, Especially in Desks

April 6, 2010 By Lisa

Caretta workspace For years I’ve tested, used, taken apart and otherwise analyzed home office furniture for articles in magazines and on websites. What I’ve found is that home office furniture that’s stylish, functional and includes solid wood features, all at a reasonable price, is rare.

The Caretta Workspace collection is a beautiful exception. My favorite part of the collection is its cable management system (the ability to organize tangled power cords), which means that finally you can hide those annoying, ugly power cords.

Not only does the collection include solid cherry features, there’s a locked laptop section that’s temperature-controlled (no more overheating), a monitor holder and built-in lighting. This furniture line is warm and sleek and can be configured several different ways. That’s especially helpful if you plan to move or you like to change your office around once in awhile.

This is a case of you get what you pay for and in this case, you get a lot for your money.

Filed Under: Home office products, Working at home Tagged With: Caretta Workspace, desks, Home office, Home office furniture, working from home

Size Does Matter

September 17, 2009 By Lisa

This past week, furniture buyers flocked to the Las Vegas Market, a biannual furniture trade show. Furniture Today noted a few interesting trends from the show.

Executive desk groups (major office hogs) are being replaced by smaller groupings at lower price points. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office setup Tagged With: Home office design, Home office furniture, Home office products

Cheap Isn’t Chic

September 11, 2009 By Lisa

The Z Gallerie Stefan desk.

Years ago when working naked was something you kept private, there weren’t many home office desks available. The only options were cheap, badly designed computer workstations and desks that fell apart after one or two moves. Now that working naked is more celebrated than shunned, furniture manufacturers—even from the commercial side—have created functional, stylish and even affordable home office furniture.

Some of my favorite places to shop for reasonably-priced home office furniture are Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, West Elm, Z Gallerie and commercial furniture dealers—they sell to individuals too. Sometimes you can find home office furniture by well known and respected manufacturers at Costco and Sam’s Club. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office design Tagged With: Desk, Home office, Home office advice, Home office decor, Home office design, Home office furniture