Introduction
What is a House Office?
Nowadays almost every home has a house office. It may be for your own home based business or may be for some other non commercial but own office related work, such as, the place for doing your online transaction of bank accounts or for arranging your tax returns or bills and many others. The house office is quickly becoming the heart of every home. Still there are many instances of house office activities that are clogged in to a storage closet or small store room. The house office concept greatly suffers from proper recognition due to limited space. But if you can bring your mini house out of the closet and organize it beautifully in a small space you should be proud to feel yourself as one of the few pioneers.
History
House Office in a Small Space
Here are few tips on how to make a house office in a small space.
• First you make a list of the things you will need for your house office at your home. The things usually needed in a house office are:
• Desk, Desk chair, Shelves, File Cabinet, Folding Tables, Computers, Telephone and fax machine, etc.
• Draw a blue print of your office space considering the area available. The blueprint can be made on a graph paper; units of length can be taken as ¼ inch = 1 ft.
• Thinks how you like to work, some people prefer to face a window for view, there are many like to face the entrance.
• Make sure you have enough light at the drafting table or reading chair, etc.
• Arrange the furniture as per your requirement and accessibility.
• Keep the room as tidy and organized as possible. A messy disorganized environment diverts concentration.
• Shop around for proper furniture at office supply stores and check what types of furniture perfectly match with your requirement and space. Calculate how much total space you will need to fit them.
Features
• Try to place your desk first, that will be the most important piece of furniture in your office. But that does not mean it should deprive others and occupy the main or major space of your home office. You can place your desk at the corner place; in most of the cases that spot is found to remain unutilized in offices.
• Arrange shelves considering available space, easy accessibility and visibility.
• Consider a revolving chair. This will be helpful in a small space for quick reach to your search item.
• Consider keeping sufficient proper space for receiving notes near the phone.
• Plan your work flow and frequency of movements. Frequency and convenience must be the key factor for deciding the elegance.
• If the space permits consider a second comfortable chair with god reading light. It is for your occasional comfort and relaxation.
• Avoid putting any obstacle near a sitting chair or table. It is never good to scatter rubbish every time you shift place.
Tips and comments
• Plan to set a meeting area for visitors. A small table and few chairs are good enough. If the space is the main criterion, stacking chairs are good option.
• Make the best use of storage space. If it demands much space consider alternate places like attic, garage or basement.
