When designing your home office space, consider these three important questions you’ll need to answer.

I call them the ‘How Much’ questions:

How much...
...time will I spend here?
...space do I need?
...privacy do I need?

After you think on those questions and come to some conclusions, you’ll be better able to move forward with good home office design ideas.

For example, my home office requires enough space for a full size desk and related office equipment, including a large capacity printer. I need room for at least three filing cabinets plus shelving. I also need to have privacy at times for customer phone interaction as well as concentration for writing.

Consequently, I know that taking a corner of the dining room and designing my little home office space will not work for me.I have a room in my home set aside as ‘the office’.

Be realistic with your office and business needs, and use forward thinking, planning for the future as well as the short term.

The next set of home office design ideas are more fun, at least they are for me. This is the part of the planning process where you decide what type of office furniture you’ll use and how it will be set up in your space.

Remember that you are building on the ‘How Much’ phase as you make these decisions, so always keep those as the foundation of your home office designs and layouts.

Here are some considerations:

• What shape will your desk area take? Traditional rectangular desk, ‘L’ shaped work space, corner unit, stand alone desk, etc.

  Think about what you’ll be doing day-to-day in the office and that will

  help you make this decision
• What type of storage needs will you have? Again, try to plan ahead so you don’t run out of space six months into the process.
• Plan ahead for electrical/cable outlets and phone/internet lines. You want to make sure that your lovely home office design is also practical and doesn’t require re-wiring the entire room or space. Or, if it does, at least you can plan and budget for it.

Now that you have the basic design considered and determined the type of furniture and equipment needed, the next step is to make your selections. This is where decisions can vary greatly from one home office to the other.

Decorating style, budget constraints and lifestyle preferences will have a significant impact on your decisions. In general, keep these thoughts in mind:

1) Consider the style of your home and the existing furnishings. If you have a casual cottage style decor, then keep your home office design ideas and selections consistent with that theme.

2) Be creative with your furnishings and storage selections, particularly if the budget is slim. Use what works for you and gets the job done...your office space doesn’t have to look like it came out of a magazine...it has to work for YOU.

3) Unless you are most happy in a utilitarian environment, make sure that your finishing touches include the things around you that help you stay motivated, comfortable and happy with your surroundings.

Whether you spend occasional time in the office or all day, every day, make that space the most functional, useful and enjoyable as you can.

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