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Your Dream Home Office
- Creating your dream home office
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- Email, faxes and voice mail have forever changed the office
concept. Gone are the beige furnishings and the daily rush
hour commute for many people who work from home. Depending
on the type of business you are in, it may be possible to
dodge the corporate office full time or a few days per week.
Conducting business from home can save time, offer flexible
hours and even tax advantages. You may be able to deduct
a portion of your property tax, mortgage interest, and other
utilities from your income tax. Check with your local taxation
office or accountant for details on restrictions.
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- Before you decide to work from home you may want re-evaluate
your "office". Is it simply a poorly lit table with a computer
on top? If so, it may be time to get creative. You can build
an addition, renovate an existing room or make upgrades
to your current workspace. With any of these options, remember
that an office space should be attractive, comfortable,
quiet and make efficient use of space
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- An addition can be as small as six feet wide-just large
enough to accommodate a desk, filing cabinets and even a
small meeting table. If you do not anticipate needing the
office for the life of your home, consider building an addition,
which can easily convert to a solarium, den or music room.
Certainly the benefit of starting from scratch is designing
exactly the space you want. A high ceiling, French doors
leading onto a patio or built-in wall shelves are some of
the attractive options.
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- Renovations to an existing room are typically less expensive
than an addition and can be equally creative. If you need
both an office and an occasional guestroom, why not simply
hide the bed until it's needed? A Murphy bed can fold up
against a wall and be concealed behind panelling, which
matches the room, or a large decorative screen. The reliable
standby sofa bed is another option if you have the space.
Choose a quality sofa bed, which can furnish a seating area
for clients.
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- Consider these design tips:
- * Use a low-pile carpet that allows chairs and carts
to roll easily.
- * Get colourful. Many office furniture manufacturers
will allow you to use your own fabric (such as a floral
print to match your living room couch) at no extra charge.
- * Use an old chest to hold hanging files.
- * Modify an antique liquor or tea trolley to hold
your computer equipment.
- * An office door with glass panels will help open
up a small space, increase brightness and even help
you keep an eye on the kids.
- * Refinish an old armoire to match your office furniture
and use it as a stylish filing cabinet.
- * Incorporate pullout designs to provide extra space.
There are great new options available from keyboard
trays to tables and desks.
- * Plenty of natural light will reduce eyestrain, however,
ensure that the computer and windows are positioned
to avoid glare on the screen.
- * Add a desk lamp lit with a blue "grow bulb" from
a garden or hardware store to provide a full spectrum
of light.
- * Velcro fasteners on the underside of a desk are
cheap, effective means of concealing computer and telephone
wires.
- * If you are buying new equipment consider a space-saving
multifunction peripheral (MFP) which combines the features
of a printer, copier, fax machine and even a scanner.
- * Position your monitor to be arm's length from your
body with the top few lines of text at eye level.
- * Your chair should be low enough that your feet rest
on the floor or on a footrest.
- * All frequently used equipment should be placed in
front of you to avoid twisting.
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- Once you have that dream home office your partner may
still say you spend too much time at work but at least the
commute will be short!
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