Adapt your house to new conditions: Home Office

When we were suddenly forced to work from home, our ideas and habits undoubtedly changed, and so many of us decided to create the conditions to work from home so that our jobs didn’t suffer. At the moment, a quiet, comfortable and safe place could be the most valuable thing for contributing to the success of your business. Distractions from your household could be never ending! Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves let’s try and make the best of the situation. After all, it turns out that work is much easier when we can work in our pajamas.

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Having a home office has not generally been a priority before but there are so many advantages. Being close to your partner/children and even parents. No commuting. No extra overheads.  In large families where each member requires a bedroom or they share a room it can be hard to find yourself your special place.Still, in every house there is a corner full of umbrellas or a stack of old magazines. Start to declutter and reorganise! Once you dispose of unnecessary things that are just collecting dust you’d be surprised the amount of space you can create and with good planning and creative ideas any space can be valuable.

1. Garden Home Office

An outbuilding could be the perfect space for you to achieve a great work/life balance. You will be able to be close to your family but also separate.  Whether your clients are visiting or you are communicating with them over the phone or computer, you will be able to be completely professional and focused.  Maybe your garden home office would suit a therapy room for beauty, yoga or pilates.  Is it a recording studio you need? Or are you an artist? There are just so many possibilities.

If you are thinking financially (it’s always money),  remember that your garden home office will add value to your entire property,and at the same time it will cost about the same as renting an office space, but it will be part of your home forever.  You could even rent it out and earn extra income.  

There is so much choice these days when it comes to building materials and the overall appearance of your new office.   You can make your garden workspace pretty much look however you'd like! A modern look, flat covering, extensive glazing, or a timber-clad exterior… The choices are endless. There is so much choice out there and the fun is choosing which direction you’d like to follow.

2. Garage Conversion Home Office

A home office doesn't have to be an expensive project. Look at the potential in every room you have.  You finally have an excuse to get rid of those bikes everyone has grown out of and the broken tents out of your garage!

When converting a garage into a workspace, since it is already an existing room in your household, why not make it multi functional - both workable and personal, that way when you’ve finished work you can have a space for informal hangouts or maybe a homework space for the kids.

There are a few things you will need to keep in mind when deciding to turn a garage into a home office. For example light is very important. Not all garages have windows - if yours does then you are one of the lucky ones. If not, then it’s not the end of the world, just make sure you get a qualified electrician to install decent lighting - there are some fabulous and innovative products on the market. Since garages are not designed to be a living space, you’ll need to think about heating and cooling (and this may be the most difficult job on this build) Not so bad, right?

3. Basement Extension/Conversion Home Office

Ever dreamt that your basement could be a real treasure when the time came to set up a home office? You wouldn't believe what you could do with a basement - from kitchens to home theaters.And, of course, a spacious home office.

Still, this will not be a simple project, although it can be quite cost-effective. There are several things to keep in mind – lighting, head height, waterproofing, ventilation.  But do not worry - if you hire the right people, no project is unfeasible. You will add value to your home - depending on the finish and space it could be up to 15%.

The biggest advantage of turning a basement into a home office is that you will still be at home but separate. Basements are usually quite spacious so the room could also be used for entertaining or family movie night once your work is done. You could even create your own entrance externally so as not to disrupt your home when clients or colleagues visit. Of course the added advantage being that you won’t be distracted by your household.

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Whichever way you choose to convert a part of your home, garage or basement into an office you will add more flexibility to your day and more time as you won’t have the dreaded commute. You could take the kids to school or even have a morning walk with your dog to start your day.When you decide where your home office will be, the fun part is the design. Create a space where you will be comfortable, warm and relaxed - but also efficient! Don’t forget to tryout your new office chair before you buy and get the desk you’ve always wanted. It is also important to have plenty of storage space. You don’t want your new office to become full of clutter again! Your home office could have a squashy sofa or even a beanbag. Use every corner and really make the space work for you. Design has come along way since the 1950’s.  Let your new home office be work-friendly and sophisticated, so that in the morning you can hardly wait to get started and you no longer associate work with some dark and stuffy place but a fresh, clean and comfortable room.