Your Home Office - Best tips?

[GrimDamnFanjo]

We're converting our spare room into an office [den!] for me :)
I'm trying to get some inspiration - what have been your best buys or decor items?

At the moment I'm considering:
An Lshaped industrial style desk with one shelf fixed above
Part of a wall cork boarded or chalkboard painted
A fold down single bed sofa
Floating shelves rather than a bookcase to keep space available...

Get a nice wheeled trolley for printer and other sundries you don’t use that often but need to have on hand.

Nothing too interesting for your video call background. No plant pots that will look like they're balanced on your head etc. Think about lighting of you're doing video calls so all from the front rather than behind you.

@jaundicedoutlook

Get a nice wheeled trolley for printer and other sundries you don’t use that often but need to have on hand.

Good point. I've been wondering what do to with the printer. Currently it's downstairs but needs to move into the office.

@Winkywonkydonkey

Nothing too interesting for your video call background. No plant pots that will look like they're balanced on your head etc. Think about lighting of you're doing video calls so all from the front rather than behind you.

Yes! I do an awful lot of video calls plus filming. I need to track where the light will be and watch the background.

We have a small house & DH using spare room as office - there is a Hemnes ( IKEA) bed which can be a sofa but can also be pulled out to a double bed or you can just use the mattresses for 2 people if one does not mind the floor. Very inexpensive but it has done a good job of being able to put a person or two up in the "office" for us

DH has an Ikea table ( you may see a theme here but our stairs are so tiny - flat pack works upstairs where he works ) and he then has a little chest of drawers for work stuff next to that , and on top of which is where extra router etc goes.

We have a wireless printer - but that does mean going downstairs for him. He rarely prints stuff out though. If he needed it a printer could go on top of the chest of drawers.

Yes to having the right lighting for video calls and making sure where you sit the background is right. Better to get it set up once and know you can just press the button and all is OK .

Other than that room on desk for coffee mugs , water bottles & also a big wastepaper basket ( not on desk that one but near ) ( sounds silly but depending on your house layout if you are a flight up - not everything gets taken downstairs straight away )

and one more thought @GrimDamnFanjo if you are going to be working there a lot / full time , invest in the best / most comfortable chair you can afford.

Basilisk - ( Professor of the obvious ) Other rubbish suggestions available on request.

I love this idea but couldn’t justify the budget

@thelegohooverer

I love this idea but couldn’t justify the budget

Wow ! That's multitasking! I've gone for a habitat chair bed which looks nice and won't take up too much space.

@BasiliskStare

We have a small house & DH using spare room as office - there is a Hemnes ( IKEA) bed which can be a sofa but can also be pulled out to a double bed or you can just use the mattresses for 2 people if one does not mind the floor. Very inexpensive but it has done a good job of being able to put a person or two up in the "office" for us

DH has an Ikea table ( you may see a theme here but our stairs are so tiny - flat pack works upstairs where he works ) and he then has a little chest of drawers for work stuff next to that , and on top of which is where extra router etc goes.

We have a wireless printer - but that does mean going downstairs for him. He rarely prints stuff out though. If he needed it a printer could go on top of the chest of drawers.

Yes to having the right lighting for video calls and making sure where you sit the background is right. Better to get it set up once and know you can just press the button and all is OK .

Other than that room on desk for coffee mugs , water bottles & also a big wastepaper basket ( not on desk that one but near ) ( sounds silly but depending on your house layout if you are a flight up - not everything gets taken downstairs straight away )

and one more thought @GrimDamnFanjo if you are going to be working there a lot / full time , invest in the best / most comfortable chair you can afford.

Basilisk - ( Professor of the obvious ) Other rubbish suggestions available on request.

I looked at the Hemnes but I;the end the space is a smidge too small so went for a chair bed instead. At the moment I'm torn between a lshaped desk with a couple of built in shelves and a simple desk and separate shelving...

I would say @GrimDamnFanjo - Think about what you might want to use the room for in the future - so to make it a really brilliant office with l shaped desk and built in shelving - great - if later on a smaller desk and other storage would be more flexible - also great .

But do try to get the best chair you can if you are going to be using it a lot.

All best x

We are doing the same - we have plumped for the hemnes too. Just trying to work out how to get the best out of video backdrop as I hate having the door in the shot as then people are on edge about who might come through the door plus my DC often sidle in to my calls and I need them to not be visible if they do come in.

We are going to very little office wise. Just a desk, small pen pot and a chest of drawers to stick the printer on (mainly used for homeschooling sheets rather than work this year). As long as I have room for two huge screens I'm happy.

A nice plant or two

I've got my plants and cactus ready!
I think I'm going to add some chalkboard paint to part of one wall.
I've got a L shaped desk on order and some shelves to put on the wall rather than a bookcase.
I need to spend this weekend cleaning ready for the decorator...

The chair bed I have bought is orange velvet from habitat- it will convert to a single bed.

Have a look at diy notice board ideas on Pinterest - having something cheerful and a bit less "officey" would make the room a bit more inviting for an overnight guest.

A lock on the door.

A shredder of a suitable rating.

I have a double ikea sofa bed, and it's handy to have a little laptop table (ikea do one that's glass and metal) - can be used to put your coffee on is your decide to sit on sofa to read docs, and the table can also be used to put laptop on if you want to change position and do a zoom from the sofa from time to time.

Fan for the summer.
Extra heater for winter.
I love my white board.
Extra lamps to help with lighting for videoconferences.

I'm tempted to have a little kettle in mine but then I'd move around even less so I'm not going to do it.

@Mysterylovingboy hadn't thought of using my laptop table like that. Genius.