Guide: Setting up a home office

Tips and inspiration for your home office

Are you self-employed, or does your employer allow you to work fully or partially from home? Congratulations!

No matter what you call your home workspace—home office, study, home office, or teleworking space—there are a few things to consider when setting it up to create a productive work environment. This guide summarizes the most important points for furnishing your home office in a beautiful and functional way. Our tips and ideas will help you make working from home more productive and enjoyable.

Here's what you can expect in the guide:

1. The perfect place for your home office
2. The right office furniture for your home office
3. The right lighting for your home office
4. Organization and storage space in the home office
5. Create a pleasant atmosphere with decoration
6. Frequently asked questions about working from home

The perfect place for your home office

If you regularly work from home, you should be able to set up your home office in a separate room. This is especially true if you work with one or more large monitors. A well-equipped home office helps you work in a focused, efficient, and motivated manner. It's equally important to be able to switch off from work. The easiest way to achieve this is by simply closing a door to the room.

If you only work from home occasionally, and your workspace requires little more than a laptop, a phone, and perhaps a printer, then a suitable workspace can be set up in many places. The bedroom, dining room, or living room are popular locations. A secretary desk or a writing desk with storage can also find a suitable place in a niche under a sloping roof or on a staircase.

Tip: Choose a quiet place
If you do not live alone, choose the quietest possible place for your work area so that family life and work can harmonize as much as possible.

Tip: Weigh the pros and cons.

Home office in the bedroom

Many of us still remember having a workspace in the bedroom from our childhood or shared apartment days. The unbeatable advantage: the bedroom isn't used during the day and is therefore a very quiet workspace. Those who have trouble switching off from work in the evening should ideally not be able to see their workspace from the bed, decorate it in keeping with the bedroom's style, and always put away their work materials after work.

Home office in the dining room

The dining room or kitchen table is often the first choice for a home office. A rolling storage unit is ideal for keeping work materials organized. Files and a printer can be placed in a sideboard that blends harmoniously with the style of the dining room.

Home office in the living room

The living room, besides the bedroom, is often the largest room and therefore offers the most possibilities for integrating a workspace. Ideally, choose a quiet, secluded spot near a window.

Tip: Visually separate the workspace

To avoid being constantly reminded of work even after hours, it's advisable to visually separate a workspace in the living room, dining room, or bedroom from the rest of the room. A shelf, plants, or even an attractive curtain can be effective tools. If you don't need a large desk, a secretary desk or sideboard with drop-down doors can be an excellent solution. These pieces of office furniture offer space for a laptop as well as storage. When closed, they discreetly conceal work materials.

The right furniture for your home office

To create a beautiful and comfortable workspace at home, you should primarily let your personal preferences guide you. Furnish your office according to your taste and style so that it integrates perfectly into your existing surroundings. This is especially important if you don't have a separate office.

A table , chair , and storage are the three most important pieces of furniture for your home office. Do you only work from home occasionally? Then a dining table and chairs can be the perfect solution. Combine them with, for example, a rolling storage unit for your work supplies; that's all you need.

Do you work from home a lot? Do you have a dedicated home office? If so, it's advisable to pay more attention to ergonomics in your workspace . You should definitely use a good office chair that provides optimal support for your back. A height-adjustable desk is also recommended, allowing you to easily switch between sitting and standing. This prevents tension, and your spine will thank you.

The right office chair

When it comes to ergonomic working, the right desk chair is of utmost importance. Good office chairs are now available in many materials, colors, and excellent designs.
So the aesthetics don't have to be neglected either!

A proper office chair offers the best support for ergonomic sitting. But only if you can adjust it correctly:

1. Seat height and depth : You are sitting correctly when your hips, knees, and ankles are at approximately right angles. Seat depth : You are sitting correctly when there is a gap of three to four fingers' width between the front edge of the seat and your lower leg while your pelvis is in contact with the backrest.
2. armrests
   You are sitting correctly when both shoulders are relaxed and horizontal, while your forearms rest on the armrests.
3. backrest
   Your back will be optimally relieved if the lumbar support is located approximately at the level of the belt line.

Tip: Change your sitting and working position frequently.
Experts recommend changing your position every 15-20 minutes. The optimal ratio between sitting and standing should be 50% each.

Tip: You can find more interesting information on this topic in our blog post “ Adjusting your office chair correctly ”.

The right desk

When working from home becomes a permanent workplace, the same working conditions should be maintained as those that apply to the employer in the office. The work surface of a desk should therefore be at least 160 x 80 cm. Ideally, you should use a height-adjustable desk.

1. Size
   A standard desk is at least 160cm long and 80cm deep.
   If little space is needed for documents or screens, for example because work is mainly done on a laptop, 140x80cm is a suitable alternative size.
2. Height adjustability
   Working at a computer screen is often associated with poor posture. This quickly leads to tension in the neck and shoulders. Therefore, you should change your working posture frequently. A height-adjustable desk makes these changes very easy. Would you like to learn more about height-adjustable desks?

Tip: Storage space at the desk
Secretaries are ideal for small spaces. If a larger workspace is possible, a desk with integrated storage is an option. However, these can quickly appear bulky. A rolling pedestal under or next to the desk is often more elegant and versatile.

Storage space and organization in the home office

Make it easy for yourself to stay organized and switch off from work after hours. When everything in your home office has its place, you can work more productively. If everything can be tucked away in drawers or behind shelves, you can effortlessly "close" your office at the end of the day.

Which furniture is best suited?

Open storage solutions are cheaper, but they quickly look cluttered. Closed storage keeps your home office looking perfectly tidy at all times.
High storage utilizes m3 instead of just m2! Modular furniture helps, for example, to optimally utilize existing space under a sloping roof or stairs, as the heights can be adjusted accordingly.

The right lighting for your home office

Sufficient daylight is essential! For focused light, you should use a desk lamp. Swivel lamps are particularly suitable, as they can be adjusted depending on your working position.

Create a pleasant atmosphere with decoration

In your home office, you can decorate entirely according to your preferences. Create the perfect atmosphere where you feel comfortable and can work productively!

Tip: Integrate plants
Plants create a cozy atmosphere and also ensure good air quality.

Tip: Create space for thinking breaks.
For example, use beautiful pictures on the wall to give your eyes relaxing moments away from the screen.

Frequently asked questions about working from home

What do you need for a home office?

To work regularly from home, you ideally need a dedicated workspace with a desk, office chair, storage, and technical equipment. A PC or laptop, monitor, printer, and telephone are standard. In any case, fast and reliable Wi-Fi is usually essential.

What are the costs of working from home and who pays them?

Notepads, pens, printer paper, and printer cartridges all incur costs. Discuss reimbursement with your employer beforehand. Those sent to work from home by their employer should expect a budget for furniture, equipment, and maintenance. Higher electricity consumption and possibly even higher heating costs should also be anticipated. Increasingly, employers are offering a monthly allowance in these cases.

How should the desk be positioned in a home office?

Poor lighting conditions tire the eyes very quickly. The desk area must have sufficient light, ideally natural daylight. The light should never reflect off the monitor. Therefore, position your workspace so that you are not sitting with your back to the window. Ideally, position the desk at a 90° angle to the window or facing outwards.

Limited space in my home office – what can I do?

If you are only working with a laptop:

• Use a flap in the sideboard or highboard as a small desk.
• Use a shallow wall table as a desk.
• Make use of your walls. High-bay storage utilizes cubic meters instead of just square meters!

Inspirational examples of clever space utilization

Would you like more tips on how toproperly set up your office ? The linked blog article contains 6 useful tips.