Putting the 'Home' in Your Home Office
by Jessica Groach
Home Improvement Ideas Columnist
When it comes to home office decorating, here's an idea: while your office must be efficient, it should also feel like home.
Home offices used to consist of a tiny little desk, a typewriter, and a dusty old lamp. But today, as the number of Americans working from home grows to almost 30 million, that home office needs a lot more. And while you need your home office to be conducive to work, it should also feel good. After all, isn't that why you work from home in the first place?
Here are a Few Home Office Decorating Ideas:
- Store computer software manuals or supplies in baskets, ceramic bowls, hat boxes, or antique suitcases. These fit neatly on shelves, but don't look institutional and cold.
- You can make a large desk with two short filing cabinets and a door. Sliding keyboard drawers from an office supply store attach easily underneath. This kind of desk gives you lots of options and it's easier to move around until you find the placement you like best.
- Why go for boring old fluorescent lighting? You're at home now! Try this home office decorating idea: use antique floor lamps with fringed shades, or pretty reading lamps from home furnishings stores. They're cozy and inviting, and might inspire creativity.
- A hide-a-bed sofa or overstuffed chair and ottoman somewhere in the room creates a comfortable place to read or edit, it's a great seat for visiting clients, and a hide-a-bed helps your office pull double duty as a guest room.
- Home office decorating is about reflecting your style. Hang inspiring artwork, mirrors, or photographs.
- Instead of filing cabinets, try wicker and wire stackable baskets with pull-out drawers.
Visit used office supply or home furnishing stores for more home office decorating ideas.
About the Author
Jessica Groach, a new homeowner herself, is a freelance writer and writing instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her work has appeared in various lifestyle and business publications, including a Warner Business Book, and she has seven years’ experience in advertising and television production.
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