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Creature comforts
Home Office Furniture
Furniture makes room for work at home.

BY MICHAEL ANTONIAK
Planning to set up an office away from the office? Ready to transform part of your house into a second home for your real estate practice?

If so, you’ll find that a home office that feels like an office will help separate your personal and professional lives. And there are enough options in home office furniture to make that distinction tastefully.

When selecting furnishings, match them to these needs:

Space
It sounds basic, but before you shop, determine how much room you have and what type of furniture will make it an organized, productive work space. Consider your space needs and those of your equipment and files.

Comfort
Use furniture to adapt the space to how you work. Prefer an airy, wide-open work area, or a consolidated work center where everything's within reach? The more comfortable you make your home office, the more productive you’ll be.

Budget
What can you afford to invest in your home office? Options range from inexpensive do-it-yourself kits to fine furnishings.

Set a price range for each component, then look for comfort and the best use of space. Where to shop? Large office equipment discounters like Staples; furniture showrooms for top-quality pieces; or online specialists in home office supplies and equipment for all budgets.

Here are some things you should consider when buying.

The desk
The desk is the hub of any office. Whether you work at home or the office, your needs are the same: ample surface for equipment and activity, and enough drawers or cabinets for supplies, your most-used resources, and active files.

Depending on space, you may opt for a work center that folds into a cabinet when you’re not working; a modular L-shaped system that can expand as needs grow; or the traditional desk with companion credenza, side tables, and storage cabinets.

The chair
The right chair makes working a pleasure; the wrong chair makes it a chore. Here’s one area where you don’t want to scrimp on cost.

Think comfort first: A chair that adapts to the contours of your body in regard to width, depth, and cushion will provide comfortable seating for hours. Then think versatility: You want easy adjustment of seat height and settings; wheels that deliver a smooth glide from desk to filing cabinet; and a tilt back if you like to rock as you speak on the phone or read.

The filing & storage
No matter how Spartan your office, you’ll need filing and storage space. The standard file cabinet, up to four drawers high, accommodates most basic needs. Lateral file cabinets offer easy access to more records and a choice in file sizes but claim more floor space. If your filing needs are minimal, consider a printer cart or worktable with built-in shelves and drawers for files.

On the desktop
When it comes to organizing your desktop space, you can build your own system from components or purchase a suite of accessories with a distinctive look. They should complement the way you like to work. For some, a busy but organized work area provides a sense of accomplishment; others gain confidence from the austerity of a clean desktop. Eldon, a division of Newell Office Products (800/446-5652; www.newelloffice.com), offers a complete line of desktop accessories and organizers made of cherry and punched metal. What matters on the desktop, as with all furnishings, is that you create the environment that allows you to make productive use of the time spent in your home office, without forcing a compromise between personal and professional life.

Guest seating
You'll need at least one extra chair for guests, but it's probably wise to have two. Stacking chairs make best use of limited space. And again, comfort and durability are paramount. The HON Co. (319/264-7100) offers a stationary guest chair designed as companion to the Mobius desk chair. A comfortable chair helps put guests at ease; anything less, and they're anxious to leave.

Some assembly required
If you want savings and versatility, consider the many options in ready-to-assemble (RTA) home office furniture, which is typically constructed of pressed wood with a laminate covering. There's a kit for every function, in just about every style of decor. What's more, many manufacturers design RTA furniture to be modular so that you can add as your needs grow.

The downside: the time and hassle of assembly. It's not brain surgery, but it could take a few hours.

Want the advantages of RTA furniture, but you're not much of a do-it-yourselfer? Ask whether assembly services are available, or check out www.werereadytoassemble.com to see whether someone in your area is willing to do the assembling for you.

Other online furniture-buying resources:

The Internet can prove an invaluable resource for learning about options in home office furniture and matching products to your needs.

Check out the Web sites of the major office supply discounters Staples and Office Depot for prices and a representative sampling of what’s available.

At FurnitureKit.com, you’ll find a selection of ready-to-assemble kits a cut above what you're likely to find in other outlets. Major retailers--such as Sears.com andEthanAllen.com--also feature an assortment of furniture ideal for the home office.

Vendor Web sites (listed in the charts) carry comprehensive info on products and availability. Some, like Bodybilt.com, explain the considerations you should keep in mind when buying a particular product, such as a desk chair.

Finally, Homepoint.com
provides one-stop shopping for all types of fine furnishings. In its home office furniture section, you can search and view products by style, material, and manufacturer.

Geared to the small office-home office market, Shop121.com sells mid- to high-end furniture. Shop by furniture type or by traditional, contemporary, or transitional styles

Here’s a sampling of what’s available in the basic categories of home office furnishings, and some things you should consider when buying.

The desk
The desk is the hub of any office. Whether you work at home or the office, your needs are the same: ample surface for equipment and activity, and enough drawers or cabinets for supplies, your most-used resources, and active files.

Depending on space, you may opt for a work center that folds into a cabinet when you’re not working; a modular L-shaped system that can expand as needs grow; or the traditional desk with companion credenza, side tables, and storage cabinets.