When you design your home office, you should take into account three factors: your work style, workspace, and the equipment you will need.

Fortunately, as the number of home office workers increase, furniture manufacturers have introduced a wide array of furniture to meet various work styles. For those who like to move around as they work, there are some interesting new options.

Work surfaces are becoming increasingly flexible. Many manufacturers now offer work surfaces with smooth mechanisms, either automatic or hand-controlled, that allow adjustment from 25" to 49" in height so that you can alternate between sitting and standing positions.

While your work style might benefit from adjustable work surfaces, you should first determine whether your workspace would accommodate such flexibility. Before designing your workspace, you should first collect all the relevant data you will need to make intelligent decisions.

First, carefully measure the space you have for your work area. Remember to measure very carefully if you plan on installing a wall-to-wall system since every inch will be critical to fitting your space. Make sure to measure where your windows are including the height from the floor to the sill. Also, don't forget to measure you doors and closets.

It would also be useful to note where your electrical outlets are positioned. Should you have prominent baseboards, crown molding, or heating ducts, it is also important to measure these features.

Ergonomic Seating

Currently, 80%-90% of all work done in the home or commercial office is from a seated position. Therefore, the single most important piece of work furniture is the chair.

The well-designed chair can improve posture and circulation while decreasing fatigue. The shape of the chair should permit most of the body weight to be transferred to the seat through the buttocks rather than the thighs.

Seat height should be adjusted so that your thighs are horizontal, the lower legs vertical and the feet firmly on the floor. The front of the seat should be of waterfall design to relieve pressure on the thigh's blood vessels. A five-footed seat base is preferred for maximum stability.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety, a federal agency concerned with the work environment, advises that your chair should have adjustable heights and backrests. The backrest should adjust in the lumbar region to provide adequate support. Well-designed chairs include independent controls for back support and seat-front angle as well as seating height. You should be able to lean backward or forward without tilting the seat and be able to make adjustments from a seated position. Casters that roll freely are also a must.

Finally, armrests can be useful because they support the forearms reducing fatigue and strain on the shoulders, neck, and upper body. Armrests also provide leverage or support to help a person get in and out of the chair. If the armrests restrict you in the performance of your tasks or are uncomfortable, they may not be practical for you.  

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Arrangement of Work Materials

When it comes to arranging work materials, it's useful to consider an airline pilot's cockpit as an ideal model. The pilot sits in his seat with the most important item, the view of the outside world, as the main focus. The essential instruments and controls are also directly in front of the pilot, arranged around the windows within easy reach. Headphones and microphones are provided to transmit and receive verbal information. Auxiliary gauges and dials are arranged around and beside the more essential instruments. Ideally, all the vital instruments are almost at his or her fingertips. Less essential controls are strategically placed according to importance and frequency of use. The pilot does not have to twist or bend out of the seat to operate the aircraft.

Visualize this perspective in your personal workspace. The items you use most often should be placed within easy view or access, so you will not have to excessively twist or bend your body while using these items. Excessive reaching takes time and in the sitting position can strain your body, especially if its is more in one direction than the other. You should arrange the materials at your workspace in their order of priority to help reduce repetitious or prolonged one-sided movements.

In short, the nature of your tasks should determine the arrangement of the instruments, tools and materials at your workspace.

Modular vs. Built-In Office Furniture

Many people who decide to integrate furniture into their home or office feel that built-in work surfaces, storage cabinets, and file pedestals are the best way to go. Without question, built-in furniture can be very beautiful and can fit your workspace perfectly. However, most people find modular furniture preferable to built-in units.

Built-in furniture offers very little flexibility to meet changing work needs. The desk you need today may be dramatically different from the one you'll need in the future given the rapidly changing nature of office technology such as computer monitor and CPU sizes.

Once your furniture is built-in, it is almost impossible to modify it or move it without considerable expense when your needs change. In contrast, modular furniture is constantly evolving. Should you have a specific furniture need in the future, you'll be able to plug in the appropriate piece of modular furniture that might not even exist today. In fact, the best modular furniture manufacturers are constantly adding pieces to their extensive furniture collections as computers and other electronic equipment evolve.

A built-in furniture system may work well for you. However, when you sell your house, you will likely have trouble finding a buyer who will appreciate your investment in built-in furniture. In fact, Remodeling magazine revealed that built-in home offices offer the lowest return on investment of any major home improvement. On average, the magazine found that people realized only a 42% return on the money invested in customized home office furniture.

In comparison, investing in high-quality modular furniture makes good economic sense. High-quality modular office furniture systems present a much lower initial investment than their built-in counterparts. Furthermore, when you move, you'll be able to take your modular system with you and re-use it and/or re-configure it. People buying your home will likely find greater value in an empty room rather than one outfitted with built-in office furniture that doesn't suit their purposes, especially if they don't even plan on putting a workspace into the area that has your built-in office furniture.

Since high-quality modular furniture lines are produced on mass production lines, their efficient production costs are low while their quality is high. In contrast, built-in furniture is quite expensive because it is manufactured in very small production runs.

In short, manufacturers of modular furniture are prepared to give you the best product at a reasonable cost. Their mission is to create ergonomically sound, convenient, and durable furniture that combines both form and function and can be easily modified when your needs change.

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