The art of a home office

I was perusing Pinterest the other day.  At this point, you’re thinking, “again with the Pinterest”.  I know, I know.  I just can’t take my eyes away from this site!  It offers so much inspiration and great ideas for future projects.  This time I got sucked in by home offices.  It can be really tricky to carve out a space in your home designated for work.  Sometimes there isn’t a lot of spare room and you end up shoving a desk in corner of the living room or guest bedroom.  Personally, I can’t work in a cluttered space so these photos were a breath of fresh air.

 Photo from veronabrit.blogspot.com

A true working office that capitalizes on the height of the room by building in storage shelves.

 Photo from Young House Love

A window with a view makes this corner space feel larger. 

I’m always tempted to paint my office walls a bold color but I know softer shades are a more conducive work environment for me.  The soft rose and warm straw color in these pictures are pretty and not too bland.

This home office is the most creative use of space I have seen!  Take an underutilized closet or reading nook and turn it into a functional space.  Genius!

 Photo from bostondesignguide.com

Get Organized!

I asked Chris Hall of Bluegrass Go2Girl to share some organizational tips for your office.  She is the queen of helping people de-clutter, create a system and stay organized.  Here's the great advice she had to offer:

There has been quite the clamor this first month of 2012 of customers looking to get organized. They are specifically looking to get their office/work space streamlined. These clients understand the importance of getting on “top” of their clutter at the beginning of the New Year. This one task will help them with productivity and stress reduction for the entire year.

The first step and probably the most important one is to get everything OUT of the office space that is not necessary to your daily work tasks. This can often be problematic due to space constraints. Lack of space is quite often the reason for the clutter to begin with. If lack of square footage is your problem it becomes even more important to have a clean, orderly system to work from. Once you determine what needs to be out of your office separating into shred, toss and store piles is the next step. Containers for your “store pile” are often determined by where the information is being stored. I am and have always been a huge fan of the banker box. They are inexpensive easily stacked and labeled. However if moister is potentially an issue you may want to consider plastic containers which you can find at most office supply and discount stores.

Once you have cleared your work space out the next step is to create a system to help you maintain a clean space. Each business is different as far as what information they need to keep for their own daily operational functions and tax purposes. I like to keep it as simple as possible for referencing and for end of the year collection. This is where color coding can be helpful. In my business the personal and business information never co-mingle but if space is of a premium different colored hanging file folders help to separate business from personal. For further simplicity I have sub-folders within my hanging folders, i.e. expenses hanging file folder, sub-folders gas, meals, printing etc. If the system is set up at the beginning of the year it makes it simple to follow and nearly effortless at the end of the year. If your business does a lot of credit card sales you may need 12 folders for each month so it is easy to reference a receipt and again a much easier process at the end of the year.

The biggest problem most people have is not having a plan for success. If you can implement a system now at the beginning of the year and take ownership you will be amazed at the lack of clutter and the inevitable end of the year scramble to put together your information for tax purposes. You and your CPA will be grateful for the early planning to streamline your business and your life.

Chris Hall can be reached through http://bluegrassgo2girl.com/default.htm or by phone at 859.230.2298

Office Space

Do you remember that movie, Office Space?  That crazy guy in suspenders would always ask for the TPS reports.  The guy that wore the glasses was obsessed with his stapler and nobody would ever tell him he was fired.  Jennifer Aniston worked at a Friday's knock-off.  I'm sure there are a lot of us that would love to change something about our office space.  The colors are drab.  The furniture is held together with duct tape.  Your cubicle feels too institutional.  The carpet is from 1972.  Sadly, if the problem is your boss, your co-workers, or your desire to date Jennifer Aniston I'm not going to be of any help.  But if a cosmetic makeover is in order, I'm your gal!

Recently, I wrapped up a total transformation of a local office space.  The business had been in the same space for 10 years.  When faced with some challenges, the options were to move or to renovate.  They chose to renovate.  Enter me.

When we began there was a small room blocked out in the main area that chopped up the poorly lit office.  On top of that, everything- carpet, desks, walls and ceiling were beige.  So as you can imagine, it left a lot to be desired for the business owner and her employees.  They took this opportunity to update the style of furniture, blinds and art that was housed in the space.  The result was a sleek and colorful new office with an open floor plan!

Every employee received an ergonomic desk chair with a stylish fabric on the seat.  Streamlining the back work stations and opening up the wall to the kitchen area makes the space feel larger.

What once was a private office, has now become an intimate conference room for office meetings and private discussions with customers. 

 A major problem with afternoon sun bouncing off the cars outside was solved with some new window shades that also added to the office's sleek new aesthetic.

 
The warm color scheme (Sherwin William's Harvester, Folksy Gold, Marshmallow & Concord Buff), rich wood tones and extra details like the crown molding now invite employees and customers alike into the space.

Pssst....Be sure and tell your boss that under section 179 you can write off all furniture purchases made for an office space this year (instead of over 7 years, like in the past).  That's a sure-fire way to get that office makeover you are dying for!

Taking Care of Business

Even though money may be a little tighter, people are wisely investing in quality furniture pieces for their office space.  CPAs are willingly paying for ergonomic desk chairs so they don’t have stiff backs after putting in long hours through tax season.  Doctors offices are ditching the old stiff armed chairs and opting for sleek, armless seating in their place so that patients of all sizes may sit in them.  Insurance agencies are saying “goodbye” to the utilitarian metal desks with overhead storage and bringing in warm toned wood work spaces that welcome their patrons.  Businesses recognize that these upgrades are necessary that for the good of their employees and for the sake of their clients.

Business owners who have had the same mundane office furniture for 10+ years will really find the benefit in updating in 2011!  Did you know there is a tax incentive offered this year that includes office furniture?!  Check out all the details here .  What better time to give that office space a facelift?!