The luxury of having a home office is something more and more people are taking advantage of, but finding the right place in the home and the right equipment for productivity isn’t always easy. Neal Zimmerman, a registered architect and author of “Home Office Design” and Jody Seivert of One by One Consulting are trying to help. The West Hartford, Conn., duo have created a web page specifically designed to help the home office entrepreneur create the perfect atmosphere with a great sense of style.
“With the availability of power books and laptops, and easy access to the Internet and e-mail, people are working all the time,” Zimmerman said. “With that has come a serious interest in creating a home office space and I think that trend is only going to continue.”
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With resources on where to buy furniture, equipment and accessories, and how to set them in the home on the web site, www. Homeofficeassoc.com, Zimmerman and Seivert cover every aspect of designing a home office, from finding the right location to buying the proper chair.
“There are a combination of things that you need to be thinking about at the same time in order to plan your office,” Zimmerman said. “You need to think about what you do, how you do, and how much space you need.”
Zimmerman suggests keeping those things in mind when searching the house. The website provides a variety of possible locations, each with its own benefits and drawbacks.
When selecting a spot for an office in the home, Zimmerman and Seivert suggest considering the factors of heat, electrical power, dampness, flooding, and accessibility. Walk-out basement spaces are among the best locations for a home office because of lighting, access, and privacy, the website said.
“Most people using a home office are either working part time or just starting up,” Zimmerman said. “These people may not need a separate entrance. A private entry is a privilege not everyone can afford.”
According to the website, a spare bedroom is another good location because the space is usually regular in shape, has natural light, ventilation, and electrical power. Another amenity usually found in a spare bedroom office is a clothes closet, which can easily be converted to an office storage closet.
Though the site credits the success of many businesses to a start at the kitchen table, Zimmerman said that a kitchen office is the poorest spot and should only be considered as a temporary measure.
“The kitchen is definitely not a very appropriate room,” he said. “Too much is going on, and it’s easy to get distracted. People do use it because it seems like an appropriate space with a table and chair, but I don’t recommend it.”
After establishing where in the home the office will be located, the next step is designing the workspace. Website designers called this the heart of the production area, or the place where “the rubber meets the road” because typically this area is where people spend most of their time.
The website lists four types of workstations: computer, administrative, meetings and projects. Depending on the nature of the work to be done at the home office, the site says one or more of these may be necessary.
“If you are a corporate telecommuter, you may need only one workstation, and that probably will be a computer workstation. If you have a home-based business, or an employee, you probably will need more than one workstation, or a multi-function station.”
According to the site the construction of a computer workstation should be different from a standard desk or work surface, and is often unsuitable for doubling as another kind of station. An administrative workstation is where you can open and post mail, invoice clients, and handle bookkeeping functions, requiring room for a telephone, fax machine and copier. Administrative space should also provide for some room for storage.
A meeting station, according to the site, requires only open space, while a project workstation is primarily designed based on individual needs.
A major factor in the success of any office, Zimmerman said, is the chair.
“People working from their home office spend as much time in their chair as they do in their bed,” he said. “Ergonomics, and how you position your body relative to your workstation are very important.”
Things to remember when selecting a chair: legs and thighs, arms, spinal support, and the head. People should remember that there is no such thing as a chair that will work universally for all body sizes; it’s important to choose a chair that is sized correctly for your body, and to sit in a chair before you buy it.
On the site, Seivert and Zimmerman remind people to ask dealers about service policies on all the equipment, check drawer glides, keyboard trays, and doors to make sure all workstations are well constructed, and to make sure all of the equipment fits through the door of the home office.
Zimmerman, who works as an architect out of a home office in West Hartford, said a good design makes all the difference.
“My office is completely private to me,” he said. “That’s very important because it removes me from home distractions, and when the day is done I can close my office door and be home.”
