Work From Home? What To Consider When Planning A New Home Or Renovation Project
If you are planning a new home or renovation project, it’s worth considering whether you’ll need to work from home. If you include a dedicated home office as part of your project, you can ensure that you create the perfect working environment rather than resorting to working at the dining room table.
The Basics Of A Home Office: Why And Where
While there are many advantages to working from home, it’s important to create an appropriate space to be productive while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. The requirements for a home office can be very different to what is important in other rooms.
It’s essential to ask many questions when designing your perfect home office or your ideal home. Consider reading through our guide to write a brief for some direction.
First, let’s start with the ‘Why’: Why are you working from home? Determining your ‘Why’ will help you work out the type of space you’ll need. Are you self-employed and need a home office for full-time work? Or are you just handling accounts in the evening? Are you using flexible working hours at your office, or are you balancing part-time work with busy family life?
Next, consider your ‘Where’: Where will your office be? Pick a space where you can create a clear separation between home and work zones. This will allow you to easily switch off when you’re not working. This separation will also help you avoid distractions around the home, like food from the kitchen and television in the living room, so you can solely focus on work when you need to be productive.
Also, ensure family members can tell when you’re not to be distracted, such as by keeping the door shut during work hours.
Your Internal Environment: Lighting, Acoustics And Ventilation
What should you think about for your internal environment?
Lighting. Ensure appropriate lighting levels for all times of the day that you will be working. Ideally, this will include a balance of natural light, background artificial lighting and task lighting.
Windows are important for maintaining awareness of the outdoors. If there is too much glare from your windows, try positioning your desk somewhere else or installing roller blinds to block or filter the light. Having windows on more than one wall of your office is a good way to reduce glare and achieve a balance of natural light.
Acoustics. Good acoustic isolation is important to maintain separation between home and office spaces. Try to position your home office far away from noisy spaces like living areas, the kitchen and the laundry room. Sound control wall systems and door seals can also be used to achieve a higher level of soundproofing. This is to both stop household noise from disturbing your work and to give you some privacy if you need to make sensitive phone or video calls.
Additionally, think about minor upgrades for higher-quality video calls. Investing in a dedicated microphone can improve sound quality, a better webcam can improve video clarity and soft wall coverings can reduce reverberations and echoes.
Heating And Ventilation. All too often, the study is in the least-desirable part of the house – an undersized room in a cold and dark corner, with a fan heater under the desk for temperature control. If you’re designing your ideal home office from scratch, think about how to make it a comfortable space that can make your work time more enjoyable and productive.
How will the heating requirements in your office differ from the rest of the home? This will depend on what times of the day you will be working and whether you prefer a warm or slightly cool environment. A heat source with a fast response time will allow you to adjust the temperature quickly, such as a radiator panel you can turn on or off. A high-wall heat pump may not be ideal in a small space, as it could blow around paper or bother items on your desk. So, try to create a space that doesn’t rely on a heat pump for cooling.
Ventilation is also important, particularly if you’re working in a small room with the door closed. A heat recovery ventilation system can introduce fresh air year-round and help maintain a comfortable temperature without opening windows.
Setting Up Your Space: Ergonomics, Furniture And Equipment
How can you create a productive environment?
Ergonomics. You’ve probably spent time slouched over a laptop at the dining room table, and while that’s fine if you’re only checking emails for a few minutes, it’s not an appropriate way to work for extended periods. It’s best to invest in furniture and accessories that allow you to create comfortable working conditions.
Furniture. You will need a desk set at an appropriate height. If you’re sharing the space with others, consider a sit/stand desk that can be set at different heights. Consider a standing desk model that allows for preset positions so you can set your ideal sitting and standing heights and adjust your desk with ease.
You should also have a good office chair that is more supportive than your dining room chairs and that can be set to your ideal height. Be sure to test different heights to find the right sitting position for your back, legs and overall posture.
Equipment. Once your ergonomic workstation is in place, you can kit it out with the equipment you’ll need to see you through a day’s work. If you’re working from a laptop, it’s best to set up your home office with a wireless full-size keyboard and mouse so you’re not working on a small keyboard and touchpad.
Set your monitor to an appropriate height. Most monitors aren’t equipped with stands that can raise them high enough, so you may need a desk-mounted stand or riser to avoid neck pain.
You can raise your laptop on a stand or connect it to a separate monitor. A multi-monitor setup may also help you work more efficiently.
Ensure you plan for all the services you will require. Install a Mesh Wi-fi network to extend your network so you have a reliable internet connection if your home office isn’t close to your router. If mobile coverage at your property isn’t great, then you may need to install a mobile signal booster. This could also apply if your home office is in a part of the house that could have its signal blocked by concrete or brick walls.
For cables, install plenty of power points, including some with USB charging points, so you don’t end up with powerboards and extension cords under your feet.
A UPS, or uninterruptible power supply, could be useful so that you can keep working even during a power cut.
Additional Considerations
What else can elevate your home office?
Personalise Your Space. Make your space bright and enjoyable with plants, art and colourful finishes. House plants can keep you connected to nature and introduce liveliness to your office. This can help to create a space that feels very different to the rest of your home, so you can have a visual cue to switch between work and home. For inspiration, look at examples of what others have created.
Also, have a breakout space to rest your eyes or stretch your legs.
Make It A Multipurpose Room. Many of the features that make for a good home office, particularly the acoustic and physical separation, also work well for other uses. Your office could double as a guest bedroom, a media room or a home gym. Consider how your home office could add value to your home by becoming a multipurpose space that can be used by your family outside of your work hours or by offering flexibility to future owners who may not need to work from home.
Solar Capabilities. It is particularly beneficial to use solar power if you work from home because you can make immediate use of power that is generated during the day. Batteries are one of the major costs in a PV, or photovoltaic, panel system, so if you can use most of the generated power directly rather than storing it in batteries, it may allow you to install a much cheaper system. Plus, surplus power can be fed back to the grid for credit.
Visit our website to learn more about solar power and other green home design practices to decide if this could be for you.
Creating A Customised Home Office For Your New Build Or Renovation Project
Contact us at Chaplin Crooks Architects to discover how you can create the perfect home office. You can reach our team on 03 384 9602 or use our site’s contact page if you have any questions for us or if you’re ready to book a free consultation.
Chaplin Crooks Architects: Create an ideal space for you and your family.
