Working from home has been on the rise for many years with workers increasingly appreciating the benefits and flexibility that come with it. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically accelerated that trend, with virtually everyone that has a desk job setting up a home office for remote work.
In this guide we will give you comprehensive checklists for a successful home office set up, give you ideas to set up the ultimate work from home space and we will share some of the work from home essentials.
What is the best way to set up your home office?
While simply connecting your laptop, connecting to the internet and start working on your dining room table is easy, setting up a work from home office that allows you te be productive, look professional and set boundaries with work requires more thought, time, money and effort.
How much does it cost to set up a home office?
Depending on what you have available at home your home office can cost as little as nothing and can climb up to the $100s or $1000s of dollars if you decide to dedicate a room to your home office with professional furniture.
There are a lot of options that provide good value for money for the basics. This beautiful minimalistic desk on Amazon will get you started with a desk for under $60 dollars (more on some basic desk choices to get going a little further down).
How do I set up a work desk from home? – Home office set up Ideas
If interior design is not your thing, this might be harder for you, but home office design is important. A desk, a chair, a monitor, filing cabinets and storing shelves are imposing furniture items. Additionally, many of us don’t have the space for dedicated rooms or garages strictly for our home office. If these home office furniture items clash with your interior design it will look odd.
Home office set up for small spaces
Many of us will need to set up our home office in our bedroom, and unless you have a huge bedroom, you will want to keep it discreet. This will help to have your home office not clash with the decor and blend in with the space.
If you are setting up a small home office, start by looking at what materials the rest of the furniture in your room has and what colors are dominant. If you have white walls and light wood across the room for example, think of an option like this two-drawer home office desk from Amazon. It’s functional, minimalistic, affordable and actually looks good!
Unless you have a lot of space or if there are professional reasons you should have a bigger desk, look for something no larger than 30 inches. This should be more than enough for your basic needs.
Home office setup checklist
Home office furniture basics
To be set up properly, and start working you will just need the following:
- Home office desk
- Home office chair
- Nearby wall plug
Home office accessories and gadgets
As you build out your office you will likely need to add additional items in order to feel comfortable and stay productive over time. Especially if you are like most people spending anywhere from six to eight hours working a day, five days a week, this is why it’s important you thoroughly think about the best home office setup for productivity
Additional Home office set up needs:
- Shelves
- Filing cabinets
- Monitor
- Wireless keyboard
- Wireless mouse
- Mouse pad
- Desk mat
- Extension cable
- Modem Router
- WiFi Extender or Booster
- Plants
Conclusion
As soon as you get started with the basics, be sure to think about your home office design. You will be spending a lot of time on your desk and chair, and working from home is here to stay. Having a well-decorated office corner that blends in with the space, that is not intrusive can and will be a nice addition to your home.