Home Office Control

By Alex May

Computers should come with a warning sticker: Beware - placing this item in your house will prompt a crowd of clutter. Piles of paper will mysteriously appear, desks will grow their own mess and a tangle of power cords will threaten to engulf it.

That’s the thing with computers; they demand you pay serious attention to planning before creating the the home office. Where will the computer live? How often is it used? And what will you use it for? All of these questions and more must be answered if you want a home office area that doesn’t threaten to overthrow your ordered life and take you hostage.

Professional organiser Amanda Sarden of the Organising Place says the home office is a breeding ground for clutter, and if people don’t plan organising systems, they can’t be surprised to find pens in the bedrooms, bills in the lounge room and a filing cabinet that won’t shut.

“Even if you think you only use the computer to check emails, you will need some kind of filing system nearby to stop paper sprawling its way through your house,” she says. “A home office needs plan and forethought. Too many people delude themselves that they never print and do everything online, but it’s just not true. I go into these houses and find paper on the desks, on the ground and in the lounge room and kitchen.”

TAILOR IT TO YOU

Architect Harvey Little, of Lindsay Little & Associates, creates bespoke home offices using a cabinetmaker to tailor furniture and storage to an individual’s needs. “Every person and family has unique, individual requirements that can’t be met by one simple system. In my entire career, I don’t think I’ve ever created the same office for different people,” he says.

“The basic ingredients might stay the same – a desk, overhead shelving, and a chair on rollers – but everything else will be specific to them. An engineer who works from home will need lots of bench space and possibly a drawing board while a lawyer might need lots of bookcases.”

Little has completed designing a house with three separate home offices – one for the mother in a room off the kitchen, another computer area with sliding cavity doors off the family room for the school-aged children and a separate home office for the father.

Home offices are no longer just a bench squeezed in to the corner of the kitchen – they are rapidly becoming a technical hub of the house. The computer is a tool to check household emails, look up information on the internet, pay bills online, hook up to the digital camera or music player and connect with a multi-function printer, scanner and copier. Kids take their computers to and from school. Parents use the computer to snatch a few extra hours’ of work time without commuting to the office. A home computer is part of our connection with the outside world.

THE COMPUTER RULES

Rutland Smith, the general manager of computers and communication at Harvey Norman, says the home office is rapidly becoming the “server room” of the household, with one main computer sharing its broadband internet connection through a wireless network.

He predicts that Windows Vista’s arrival on our home computers (January 2007) will speed up the adoption of digital technology like downloading movies to the home office computer to be played on your lounge room TV; or playing digital music stored in the computer through the stereo. “This digital adoption is going to continue, and that will keep changing the way we use the home computer,” he says. “The home office will be the hub of the house that runs the household’s entertainment, as well as a work space.”

It means flexibility will be the keyword when it comes to designing a home office. Interior designer Roxane Kourakis, an expert who designs commercial office spaces for Sheldon Commercial Interiors, says the minimum floorspace she would allocate to a desk with a computer is 1.8m by 1.8m, usually with an L-shaped desk configuration and a computer in the corner of the desk. She says overhead shelving is valuable storage space, and a mobile unit with a filing drawer under the desk should save space and accommodate file storage needs.

“If you are lucky enough to have a dedicated room as a home office, then go for it and set up in there. I’m sure a lot of people don’t have the luxury of being able to dedicate an entire room to the office, in which case it’s best to set up in a corner near a kitchen or dining room,” she says.

“You need good natural light – but not so much that you will get glare on the computer screen. Desk lamps, power and connection points for the computer and neat solutions to ensure the cables don’t drag across the floor are also good.”

Sarden and Little suggest a $2000 budget would buy a desk, suitable chair (don’t be tempted to use the kitchen chairs – your back will hate you for it) and some storage such as bookcases and filing cabinets.

And all three designers suggest measuring up the home office space on graph paper before going shopping to buy the pieces. “If it’s a small space, it’s worth planning well. You will work more happily in it and be more efficient,” Sarden says.

HOME OFFICE SET UP

• Know your own work habits and don’t underestimate how much space you will need to lay out papers and store files nearby.
• Some kind of filing system is needed – it might be as simple as a book with plastic pockets for household bills or a filing cabinet. Use a system that works for you.
• A four-point powerpoint will be the minimum required for a computer, printer and accompanying digital equipment like music players and iPods. Devise a way to keep cables neat and don’t be tempted to run them across walkways.
• A quality adjustable office chair is vital for even the most basic computer-user . “You think you’ll only spend 10-minutes to check emails, but sometimes you get stuck at the computer for three hours and that will give you a neck ache,” says Sarden.
• If you need to supervise children and their computer-use, think about a multi-purpose computer space adjoining a family room with sliding doors.

HOME OFFICE NEEDS ANALYSIS: A QUICK QUIZ

The household computer is used by

b) One person only

c) At least two adults

d) Adults and children

The household will use a computer to

a) Check emails, pay bills online and surf the net

b) Work part-time from home

c) Run a dedicated business

When I use a computer, I need

a) Nothing nearby except a pen and piece of paper

b) At least household files and probably a few other items close by

c) Reference books, accounting files, stationery and working documents need to be in easy reach

Mostly A’s: MAKE DO WITH MICRO

You will need at least a micro-station, which could be set up as a flexible space in a room like the kitchen or dining room. Ideally, buy a small separate desk to use for the computer, which will have space for a printer and a telephone nearby. And don’t be tempted to make do with a kitchen chair – buy one on rollers with adjustable height settings. Check the lighting of the area, and the availability of power and phone connections.

Mostly B’s: SQUEEZE IN WHAT YOU CAN

Ideally, set up the computer in a separate room. If that’s not possible, hijack a corner of a room that can be screened off or separated in some way. Will some low bookshelves divide the space? Or a bank of low filing cabinets? Wall shelving near the desk is useful, but a bookshelf is a good alternative.

Mostly C’s: SEPARATE HOME OFFICE

A separate room with a door that can be closed not only for privacy, but to shut out household noise is a must for you. If there isn’t space in the house, maybe there is a garage or corner of a spare bedroom that can be transformed? Invest in a powerful computer which can then be networked for any additional household laptops. Think hard about the storage you will need – book cases, shelving, filing cabinets will be vital for you.