Due to the rise of telecommuting and the explosion of web-based small businesses, more people than ever are finding opportunities to set aside the daily commute and work from home. Naturally, this shift involves a lot of changes to one’s life and routine, not least of which is the necessity for a home office. When beginning to work from home, many people quickly discover that working in any old room of the house just doesn’t work. To stay focused, one needs a dedicated space that’s for work and work only. When making your home office, here are some things to keep in mind:


1. Offices need privacy: If you don’t have a lot of room to spare, then this will obviously affect how you set up your home office. Of course, the ideal scenario is to have a separate room that can enable you to completely shut out the outside world while you’re working. If this isn’t possible, then you’ll have to set aside a space within a room that is devoted to nothing but your office. There are different things you can do to set it apart from the rest of the room. There are partition walls, or you can use a row of tall book shelves.

2. Make it look nice: If you’ve been an office drone for much of your live, then you may just assume that all offices need to be drab and boringly decorated. But you are in charge of this office, so you can do anything you want with it. Paint the wall a fun color, hang up any decorations that make you feel good, and make sure the furniture is appealing.

3. Keep it well lit: Mood lighting is nice for creating an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere, but when it comes to working, you’re going to need to have plenty of light so your eyes don’t get tired. The best home office setups usually have multiple light sources, including a lamp on your desk and a brighter overhead light.

4. Make it ergonomic: Since you’re going to be spending lots of time sitting in your office, you want it to be comfortable. Of course, it can’t be too comfortable or else you’ll fall asleep, but see if you can invest in a nice desk and chair that are designed to create an ergonomic workspace.

5. Get your deductions: Most tax agencies allow small business owners to deduct expenses related to home-based offices. For example, you can calculate the portion of your home devoted to your office and deduct a corresponding portion of your rent and bills. However, the catch is that the office has to be devoted exclusively to work purposes, or else it doesn’t count as a business expense.