How to Make the Most of Your Home Office

home office

When I first began working from home eight years ago when I became a mom for the first time, I worked from my home office. My husband and I built our first house 12 years ago, and we had three bedrooms. Since we only had one little one when I began working from home, I still had a home office. Three years later when our second daughter was born, I had to move out of my home office in order for both the girls to have their own rooms. I worked from my laptop at the dining room table, on the couch, on the patio in the front and back, from bed; wherever I could find space and was comfortable enough.

Fast forward to three years later when I gave birth to our boy/girl twins and we had to buy a bigger house. One of the most important things for me in our new home was a home office. My business had grown so much by then I needed dedicated space of my own, and it was becoming more and more difficult to work without one. Aside from needing enough bedrooms so our four littles could all have their own space and enough bathrooms to accommodate a family of six in which four are females, an office was all important.

I was thrilled when our dream home had an office. Right in the front of the house just to the right of the front door and foyer when you walk in, I’m hidden in a nice, big corner. I have a big picture window overlooking my gorgeous front patio on one wall, a glass door on another wall that allows me to go outside and sit at my little bistro table on the patio around the side of the house (it’s a wraparound porch) and a sliding pocket door on another wall that leads into our master bedroom hallway where our closets are located. It’s big, spacious and bright. I love it.

However, I’m about to make some major changes to my home office. I can’t say much about it, but my husband is going to be working from home almost every day beginning in a few weeks, and now I have to share my office. It’s big, so it’s fine. We work well together, so it works out for us in the first place. We are planning to install a new flooring just like this commercial vinyl floor because it is perfect for offices even to a home office due to its design.

However, he needs ample equipment while I only need my desk, laptop and my iPad Pro. That means making some new office investments, and I thought it might be a nice idea to discuss how we’ve come up with our idea of great home office investments that will really benefit us in terms of our respective work and functionality.

It’s becoming more and more common for people to work from home at least part of the time these days, so we want to be sure that we are helping you to make the most of your home work space.

Quality Desks

There is nothing like a cute desk from Target or Home Goods or something of that nature, but your home office really does need a quality desk that allows you to work harder and smarter. You want it to last, and you want it to meet your needs. Is it large enough? Does it have enough space for you? Does it fit well? Does it have enough storage? Don’t cheap out on a desk just to stay within budget; you’ll end up spending more when you replace it after realizing it’s not conducive to what you need.

Comfortable Chairs

Not going to lie here; I wanted a decorative chair so much more than a comfortable one. Fortunately, I lucked out in that department because my office chair is both amazingly gorgeous and comfortable. Now I just have to find one for my husband that will work in both categories. It’s worth spending a little more money when you’re rear end is in this chair so often throughout the day.

Shelving

I’m not all about spending a ton of money on shelving. In fact, I love the white shelves I have in my home office right now. It’s a small white shelf with three rows of three ‘cubbies’ that I bought at Walmart or Target for something like $30. It was a little bit boring, so I bought cheap mirrors the same size as the back of each cubby hole and had my husband glue them to the back of the shelves to make it prettier. Ikea also has inexpensive, fun storage shelves for offices – and you can always use storage made for other rooms, too.

Décor

This might sound silly to some, but I have to have a pretty workspace. It’s inspiring and it makes me feel comfortable. I work better when my surroundings are thing I love, so I always splurge on things that make me feel good. No, I don’t splurge. I love the office décor and wall art from places such as TJ Maxx and Home Goods, and Hobby Lobby always has the prettiest office accessories to place in here. I also always have a bouquet of fresh flowers on the table in the corner of my office (they were once on my desk by one of my twins knocked that over on my former laptop and, well, that’s why it’s my former laptop). They just brighten up the entire room and make me feel so productive.

Photo by Getty Images

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