Are you thinking about establishing a home office? If so, you’re in good company. According to a recent study by research firm Wirthlin Worldwide, 31 percent of Americans now have offices in their homes, up from 24 percent in 1996.
About 4 in 10 Americans with home offices dedicate an entire room to the office, Wirthlin Worldwide found. The remainder create partial-room offices in bedrooms, dens, dining rooms, family rooms, living rooms, kitchens and basements.
Regardless of where your new home office will be, you’ll need to furnish it for optimal time management, productivity and comfort. For many, that will mean a trip to an office supply retailer and a major investment in a desk, chair, file cabinets and other office furniture.
But furnishing a home office that works as hard as you do doesn’t require a substantial outlay of cash. With some bargain-minded shopping, you can outfit your office with all the amenities you’ll need without blowing your budget. And that’s all the more important if you’re starting a home-based business in that office, and need ready cash to fund other aspects of the enterprise.
One of the first questions to ask yourself is whether you should rent, rather than buy, office furniture. Renting makes good sense for several reasons, said Christa Landgraf, vice president of sales for Arlington Heights-based Brook Furniture Rental.
First, renting allows for plenty of flexibility, permitting you to add or eliminate pieces of furniture as your needs change. Second, renting often means greater convenience, because you don’t have to wait long for furniture, or assemble it once it arrives. Landgraf says her company delivers fully-assembled furniture within 48 hours of the order. Third, many furniture rental companies offer space planning advice, something office furniture stores don’t generally provide.
But the biggest advantages are financial. Renting allows you to conserve cash and make a small monthly payment rather than a large initial one. There may be tax benefits as well. Landgraf reports some of her customers find they can write off their monthly office furniture rental as an operating expense. Finally, some companies offer rent-to-buy options, in which a portion of the rent goes toward the eventual purchase of the furniture.
If renting isn’t for you, consider purchasing used rather than new office furniture, said Kelli Ormond, spokeswoman for the New York City-based Home Office Association of America.
She recommends visiting used office supply stores and even thrift stores for good bargains on desks, shelving or file cabinets. “It makes so much sense, but it doesn’t pop into people’s heads,” she said. “But it can save them a lot of money in the long run.”
You’ll also find used furniture through rental furniture firms’ retail outlets, such as Brook Furniture Rental’s clearance centers in Elk Grove Village and Tinley Park. The furniture may sport a scratch or nick but is fully functional, Landgraf said. And the savings can be significant.
“The pieces will be anywhere from 70 to 80 percent below typical retail costs,” she reported. “It’s a little-known find. There’s still delivery available (at an additional cost), and the pieces come to you already assembled. It’s a great value.”
If you decide that only new furniture is good enough for your home office, give some thought to buying pieces that are multifunctional, or can work in tandem with existing furniture. Such pieces can save you money and conserve space.
A good example is a product available at IKEA in Schaumburg, said Tracey Kelly, commercial support manager for Work IKEA, the home and professional furniture division of the Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based retailer.
“We have a product for less than $100 called the Nenne, which is a rolling cart that lets you put your monitor on top and your CPU on the bottom,” she said. “It can be rolled up to a table, and allows you to do your work right there.”
Another piece offered by IKEA is the Timmerman work station, which is designed to fit inconspicuously in a bedroom, den or even living room. Open the doors and it’s a desk complete with room for your computer and peripherals, a pull-out keyboard shelf and a drawer that can be used for hanging files, plus a whiteboard and a corkboard mounted on the inside of the doors. Close the doors and the desk is hidden away in what looks like a component of a wall unit. Constructed of pine with a clear lacquer finish, it sells for $499.
“It’s like you have an entire office in a very small space,” Kelly said, adding that because it allows you to keep all your computer equipment, files and important papers behind closed doors, “it’s ideal for households with children.”
Another place to find ingenious home office solutions is The Container Store, a Dallas-based retailer with stores in Northbrook, Oak Brook, Schaumburg and Chicago. Assistant buyer Gillian Norman says cash-strapped customers can start out with a simple and very spartan desk featuring a melamine top and steel legs for as little as $100.
“That’s a great desk that will last forever,” she added. “When you no longer use it for your office, it can work for your child’s room, or be used as a desk for sewing or crafts, or go into your garage for handyman projects.”
Desk options at The Container Store go all the way up to $2,000 for solid wood desks with solid wood storage drawers and shelving, she added.
For those just starting to put together a home office, Norman particularly recommends buying modular pieces. “What I love about modular systems is the ability to change and rearrange them over time,” she said. “(Customers) can buy a bit now and add on as their needs change. You might as well mold a work area around your lifestyle, rather than vice versa.”
For instance, The Container Store’s Elfa System allows consumers to start with simple table-like desks for about $100, then add drawer systems that fit under the desks. Shelving that stands on the floor or mounts on the wall can also be added, Norman said.
Because an excess of paper can soon overwhelm anyone’s home office, Norman also recommends investing in an appropriate filing system. And the system needn’t be expensive; for instance, The Container Store offers systems that range in price from $14.99 to $249.99.
For optimal efficiency, also make sure that your desk drawers are set up so that pens, scissors, self-adhesive notes, paper clips and binder clips are in their proper places.
The Container Store offers modular drawer organizers, as well as one-piece organizers that take up an entire drawer, in plastic, steel and wood for $1 to $8.99.
“Your drawer is prime real estate, and you want it (to be devoted) to those things you need daily,” Norman said. “It should be easy access, and you want to open it up and see everything. Divide and conquer.”
