You've chosen the best location for your small or home office based on your power, lighting and ventilation needs. Now you're ready to set up your home office and see how well your office design meets your work needs. Use this check list to ensure that your small or home office is a safe, usable work space:
1) Place your office equipment for maximum ease of use. Determine the best place for each piece of office equipment and furniture by running through a work test. Whatever you use frequently should be close to hand and easy to access. If it's not, move it.
For instance, if your work involves using the phone a lot, your phone should be in a position where you don't have to get up or reach awkwardly to use it. If your work involves handling and filing a lot of paper, your filing cabinet needs to be close enough that you can get to it with a few steps - or even better, have filing drawers within your desk that are close to hand. Run this work test for several days to be sure you have everything placed in the best position.
2) Protect your sensitive office equipment. I've already stressed the need for adequate ventilation as part of your office design. It's equally important to protect your office equipment, such as computers, from power surges and/or electrical outages. Invest in as many UPSs (Uninterrupted Power Supplies) as necessary to prevent loss of data or worse, expensive damage to your equipment.
3) Organize those cords and wires. Just because you have a lot of office equipment doesn't mean your work space has to look like a rattlesnake den. Plan your office design to put as much of your telephone wire or CAT5 cable out of sight as possible. If you have long lengths of cable running from room to room (or down a hallway), consider drilling holes and lifting baseboards as necessary to get it out of sight. If you can't put cables and/or wires out of harm's way, make sure you tape or staple them down as necessary, close to walls, so people aren't in danger of tripping over them.
Examine the cords of your office equipment and take up the slack where possible, either using wire ties to tie up the excess, or using something like a Cable Turtle. Neatly bundled cords help prevent accidents and will make your home office more aesthetically pleasing.
Going wireless is another way of tackling the cords and wires problem that you may want to consider. Many computer peripherals, such as printers and copiers, now have wireless capabilities.
4) Clear the paths. Because they're situated in rooms that were originally designed for other uses, some small or home offices resemble obstacle courses. Just because that bed or plant stand has always been there, doesn't mean it has to stay there. You need to be able to get up from your desk and walk around without banging your shins. Get rid of all unnecessary furniture and clutter in your home office space. And don't forget to check the floor. Make sure all area rugs are securely tacked down, for instance.
5) Do a last check of your work needs and make sure that you have all the office equipment and office furniture that you need to keep you organized and able to work productively and safely. For example, a speaker phone will allow you to speak on the phone hands-free, allowing you to make notes or work on other tasks. If you have manuals or books that you consult frequently, incorporating some built-in shelving into your home office design may be a real productivity booster.
6) Add some eye candy. A well-placed painting or print or even a corkboard with some photos can add some visual punch to your home office design and make your office a more appealing space to work in. Your personal taste will determine what works best for you, but don't clutter up your work space with too many visual distractions.
Infrastructure, utility and safety - the keys to office design that will help you create a small or home office that's both a functional work space and a pleasant, productive place to work. Even if we sometimes have little choice as to where our office space will be, focusing on these three elements will help us design an office space that's usable and ultimately livable.
