Wendy Jimenez

These days, more and more people are taking the bold step of doing at least part of their job at home. A 30-second commute has a lot of appeal, and people are increasingly opting to work at home because it allows them flexibility to attend to family joys and responsibilities. But as anyone who has been down this road can tell you, working at home has its down side as well. By planning wisely and upgrading appropriately, you can make your home office an excellent work environment — one in which you'll be both comfortable and motivated.

Home Offices That Fit Your Lifestyle and Work Habits

Home office needs will differ based on work habits and lifestyle. Many people prefer to locate their offices away from the rest of their living space, and they may find attics, basements and rooms over detached garages idyllic places to create a residential office. Parents who need to work while monitoring their kids may want something more centralized or scalable within the home. And some people may use office spaces for writing, reading, musical composition and other activities. Hiring an interior designer with experience designing residential office spaces can be invaluable in designing the right space to fit your needs.

Custom Desks, Chairs and Furniture

You might be able to find acceptable office desks and chairs at your local furniture store, but you also might want to think of your home office as more of an investment. Many people use their offices every day, or nearly every day. To maximize productivity and minimize stress, joint pain and poor posture, you may want to splurge on a custom-built desk and an ergonomic office chair. A finish carpenter can deliver all sorts of custom amenities that, while seemingly indulgent, are smart investments for one of the most productive areas of your home and your work life.

Design a Home Office Environment for Visitors

If there's any chance you'll have visits from colleagues, your boss, vendors, partners, clients or others, you must pay special attention to the kind of statement your work environment makes. When appropriate and possible, have a separate outside entrance so that visitors don't have to traipse through private family spaces to get to your office. It's difficult to project a sense of professionalism when you have to pick up toys or laundry en route to your meeting. In most traditional office environments, you’d use a conference room for meetings. If you keep your work area neat, and there's room for another table, you may be able to create your own mini conference area.

Ideally, the office area should have a dedicated bathroom off limits to family members. This makes it easy to keep it clean and clutter-free. If you can't swing a separate bathroom, consider designating one of the family bathrooms for office use — and also adding storage to minimize clutter and make it easier to keep clean as well.

Wiring and Communication Needs

It usually makes sense to have at least one separate phone line exclusively for your office. If you use the Internet, fax machine or e-mail extensively, additional lines are a good idea. A separate business line allows you to have a professional voicemail or answering machine message. It also gives you the option of using call forwarding if you occasionally work from another location. A designated business line also makes it easier to keep youngsters from intercepting your important business calls. And at the end of the day, you can leave the business line to the answering machine or voicemail without missing calls from friends and family.

Another common issue with home offices is electrical power. Copiers, laser printers and computers use a lot of juice. Check with an electrician about adding a couple of circuits so that you don't have to worry about tripping the circuit breaker every time you make a photocopy. Not only is it convenient to have an experienced electrician handling this type of work, it's important to hire a qualified electrician to ensure your safety and that of your family and your home. Many office spaces weren't designed to handle load-bearing circuits and advanced electrical devices.

Don't Forget Home Office Ground Rules

No matter how well designed your workspace is, you'll have to establish basic ground rules for yourself, your family and even your visitors. If you find yourself making continual raids on the refrigerator, you may need to establish a rule for yourself that limits trips to the kitchen to meal times. A separate business phone line isn't much use if family members routinely turn to it when the main family line is tied up, and your "conference room" won't serve its purpose if it becomes a hideaway for empty boxes, half-finished puzzles and spare camping equipment either.