Furnishing for Success
by: Jeffery D. Zbar 
To some, the kitchen table and chairs
are the foundation upon which to build a home office. The table’s
big, the room’s well lit, and a phone usually hangs close by.
But the drawbacks can outweigh the attributes. Who can spend
a day in a kitchen chair without suffering aches and stiffness?
And who wants to clean up their workspace when the day is through
and it’s time to feed the family? The home office needs the
appropriate eye for detail, comfort and ergonomics, or the interaction
between worker and workspace.
Start with the basics. Workers need a
work surface, a secure and user-friendly environment for the
computer, filing space, and most importantly, a comfortable
chair. In fact, the chair can be the most important item in
the home office. The chair should have adjustable armrests,
back and seat pan, and five legs for support. Breathable fabric
will make it more comfortable.
The ideal desk depends upon the type
of work to be accomplished. Accountants need surface area to
spread out papers. Computer programmers need a computer workstation
and less surface area. Surface areas ranging from secretarial
30-by-60-inch work top, to an executive 36-by-72-inch model.
Typical height is 29 inches. Some desks have matching hutches
for books and papers.
Speaking of papers, plan on shuffling
any in the office? Then you’ll need some filing cabinets. Most
experts recommend four drawers for current, recent and archival
filing needs. Quality cabinets can be purchased for around $75;
bought used, they can cost half that much or even less. This
brings up an important issue for many at-home workers:
Finances. Here’s some ideas how to
furnish an effective home office without spending a lot of money.
- Many used office furniture stores
or office equipment leasing companies have desks and filing
cabinets to choose from. Shop around for price and quality.
- Visit the local thrift or consignment
shop for used furniture and equipment.
- Read the classified ads for corporate
furniture or equipment sales or auctions.
- Know anyone in a business? Sometimes
businesses preparing to upgrade their furnishings would part
with existing equipment cheaply.
- Hit a local retailer going through
a remodeling. They often throw away well-built displays that
would work well storing magazines, books and other goods in
a home office.
- Visit the local office supply store
(Office Depot, Office Max, Staples, etc.). Why buy used when
you can get new sometimes just as inexpensively?
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