New job? Here’s how to create the perfect home office

Smarten up your home office with office furniture online

If you are planning to improve your home, you’re not alone. A survey by GoCompare found that 33% of us planned If you have started a new job recently, it’s quite likely that you work from home part of the time. A recent survey by Forbes discovered that 63% of UK respondents worked remotely either all or some of the time.

One of the most important aspects of working from home is to ensure that you have a comfortable and appropriate space in which to work. Whilst it can be tempting to just perch at the kitchen table or on the sofa, you need a better long term solution for you to be able to work productively and take care of your health and wellbeing.

So an essential aspect of you starting your new job is to get your home working area sorted. In this article we share five important steps to help you do that.

Step 1 : Identify the best area for your workspace 

The ideal home office would be in a separate room, so this is the first thing to consider. For example, if you have a dining room, how often is it actually used? Or is there a spare bedroom that has actually become just a junk room and could be better used as a home office? 

If there is no suitable room in your home, how about outside? Is there an outbuilding such as a shed that you may be able to convert? Explore all options to see what might work.

But if not, then you need to find either part of another room that you can allocate to your home office, or even perhaps a corner of a hallway or landing.

Whatever area you choose, and however big or small, it needs to be clearly defined as your office space, and respected by the rest of the family. And part of that clarity will be determined by how well you set it up.

Step 2 : Get the best office furniture and equipment that you can

It’s very important to get the best quality furniture and equipment that you can. And don’t just go for things that look good. You also need furniture and equipment that provide the best working conditions for you and will support your health and wellbeing. Bear in mind that your employer should provide your display screen equipment, and may also be able to help towards the cost of your office furniture.

Two examples of essential office furniture are an ergonomic chair and a desk at the right height. Taking time and care to choose these items will prevent aches and pains from working in the wrong posture. 

It’s also worth getting the largest desk possible, as this gives you more working and storage space. And if you have an oddly shaped space, don’t worry, DIY Homefit can help. We can supply made to measure desks to fit your specific size requirements, and can also provide flexible storage options – cupboards, drawers, shelves etc – to suit. Our home office furniture is all available in a wide range of finishes, similar to our wardrobe doors and kitchen cabinets

Find out more about what we can offer on our Home Office Furniture online page.

Step 3 : Get the lighting and heating right

Lighting has a huge impact on the comfort of your workspace and therefore the effectiveness of your work. The best light to work in is natural light, so position your desk to make the most of any natural light available. 

Try to avoid using any kind of fluorescent lighting as this can cause drowsiness. If you need to boost your natural lighting, consider wall lights, floor lamps, and desk lamps instead.

Similarly, make sure the temperature in your workspace is helpful for getting work done. On the one hand, a room that is too warm can make you feel sleepy. But if it is too cold it can become a distraction and lead to errors. Find a temperature that works for you, and keep an eye on it so that it remains at that kind of level.

Step 4 : Get organised with storage

When working from home, it is probably even more important to be well organised about how you store your work items than if you work in an office. Your home is likely to be shared with one or more others, but always remember these others don’t share your work priorities. So if you leave important work stuff lying around it may well get moved by someone else who doesn’t appreciate its significance at all.

The solution to this is to maximise your storage options and make full use of them, particularly if you don’t have a separate room for your home office and need to share space. Fill your workspace with the best combination of cupboards, drawers, shelves, bookcases and filing cabinets that meets all your storage needs. 

DIY Homefit provides a wide range of office furniture online that includes many different storage solutions, and can be custom made to fit your space : all at a fraction of typical High Street cost.

Step 5 : Make your home office a great place to be

It’s also important to bear in mind that you will be spending a lot of time in your workspace. So once you have got the essential functional equipment in place, also take time and effort to create a great place in which you will enjoy working. 

The specifics of this will depend on your personality and passions, but could include items such as plants, flowers, inspirational quotes, family pictures, and mementos from trips and other special events. All of these add a splash of colour and touch of personality to your workspace, and help to keep you in a good mood during working hours.

Also indulge your other senses too. For example if you love scent, then have items such as diffusers and scented candles in your work space. And if you love a bit of music, how about a smart speaker to enable you to listen to your favourite tunes throughout the day.

We hope that the five steps described in this article give you some helpful tips about how to create your perfect home office. Remember that DIY Homefit supplies office furniture online that could be just what you are looking for. So why not take a browse through our gallery of home office ideas to find out more.

And do check back here soon for more home and lifestyle tips from DIY Homefit.