Wondering how you can make your home office more inviting? Consider these custom-designed solutions.

Working at home can be one of life’s great pleasures. Whether you do it 40 hours a week or just a few hours a month, there is an unmistakable pleasure that comes from being in the captain’s chair in your home office.

Your view from that chair may need some refreshing from time to time, however, to maintain that pleasure. This is human nature, and it is especially true if you decide to change your work habits or you are receiving more associates in your office. When you think about how to make your home office more inviting, a lot of options probably come to mind at once. Our experts can help you sort through all those ideas to pick out the ones that really shine—the ones that will ultimately work best for you and your schedule.

Deciding How to Make Your Home Office More Inviting

To get a handle on the cosmetic changes you need in your home office, you might start by identifying what you want to remove. You may want to replace everything down to the flooring, or at least the paint on the walls, and create a new color scheme and a new style all around. Or maybe something not quite so radical will do. (We’ll leave that choice up to you.)

Let’s look at two design issues that can be addressed through customization: functionality and flair.

A Neat and Convenient Home Office

Chances are that one of the motivations for your home office makeover is that your office space is cluttered, disorderly, and inconvenient. This happens a lot, usually after a few years of use. Things pile up over time, and as you spend more and more time in your home office, things may start to feel sort of stale.

A little bit of customization can go a long way towards breathing new life into an old office to make it feel new again. Some ideas:

• A new work surface. You need a desk or a countertop, depending on what exactly you do, and either one needs to be the right height, with the right lighting, clean and with an attractive finish. You may want a countertop against the wall, possibly wrapping around two or even three sides, so you would sit facing the wall or a window. A freestanding desk or island may suit you better, or even a peninsula attached to the countertop. If you have a desk, make sure you have a comfortable, ergonomic chair to go with it.

• Lighting. Proper lighting has a tremendous influence on your wellbeing, especially when you are working. Try to take full advantage of the natural light available. Then make sure you have sufficient overhead and desktop light—another opportunity to bring some fresh new décor items in.

• Storage. You’ll want to keep some, maybe most, of your accumulated clutter near at hand, because you actually do need those items. But it should be conveniently stored, not randomly piled up. Custom adjustable shelving and custom drawers can be installed to hold practically anything, whether it’s a wall full of books or a drawer full of pens and notepads. Many people are eager to hide their office technology—the pretty printer has yet to be invented, and those black boxes with blinking lights are hardly any better. These can be easily placed in cabinets, with a cable management system to prevent unsightly spillover.

A Home Office with Style and Beauty

The other half of the inviting office equation is comfort and a little pizzazz, so you’ll feel at home as well as efficient in your home office (and your visitors will too). This might be a delicate balance—with too much comfort, you won’t want to work, but on the other hand, if it’s not comfortable enough, you won’t exactly look forward to spending time there, either. Just a few special touches can make all the difference, such as:

• Glass-fronted cabinets to display treasured items beautifully, whether work-related or not. They can even be backlit with LED lighting to emphasize their place of honor.

•  Bookshelves (with books) to provide a classical touch. They can be useful and, even if all of your reference works and leisure reading are digital, they make a strong visual impact.

Incorporating some options for break time will also look nice and can boost creativity—just remember that you have to be able to avoid temptation when it’s work time.

• A media center can hold your big screen, sound system, and gaming devices with understated elegance worthy of a well-furnished home office.

• A minibar/refreshment center is the last word in convenience for a home office. Be sure to put a comfy soft chair in that corner too; it’ll be handy for you and impressive for visitors. It’s great for a multifunctional family room, too.

• A wall bed can be seamlessly incorporated into your home office/family room to make your space do double duty when the occasion calls for it. When it’s not needed, you’ll never even know it’s there.

Make Your Home Office Just Right

When deciding how to make your home office more inviting, a good talk with a professional designer can help you figure out exactly what you need to create a home office that’s truly a perfect fit. A free design consultation with a Closet America expert is an excellent opportunity to do just that. Our representative will come to your home on a weekday or weekend and, after some joint brainstorming, they will create an interactive 3D model using CAD technology to show you all the potential ready to be tapped in your home office.

Your consultation is the first step in our four-step process, which includes making every piece you order by hand to your exact specifications using the finest materials and engineering. Our specially trained technicians will install your new home office components quickly and with no mess, and we follow up with every customer to make sure you are as happy with your new office as we think you will be.

You can get started on your way to a more inviting home office as soon as you like; go ahead and contact us here at Closet America today to set up your free design consultation.