Costs of a Home Office

Closed, this armoire is an elegant piece of furniture. Open it's a fully functioning micro office. If all you need is a table and chair, you can set up a home office for a few hundred dollars (plus the cost of your computer system). But if you build a home office with typical custom furnishings or even customized modular units, expect to pay $5,000 and more in this area. According to Remodeling Magazine, an industry trade publication that keeps track of such things, the average home office in 2002 cost $10,526.

Worse news is, however, that you are not likely to recoup all of this cost if you sell your house. Only about 55% of the cost comes back to you on sale. If you think about it, what is the likelihood the new buyer is going to need an office? If he doesn’t, he's not going to pay much for one. Of course, if the office is exactly what attracted him to the house in the first place, then it has paid for itself. In some areas, according to Remodeling Magazine, an existing home office is a "big selling point." But generally, if you are going to build a home office, do it only if you plan to be in your home for quite a while. We hate to lose your business, but there it is.

Furnishing Your Home Office

No matter how small or large your home office , certain furnishings are essential. At minimum a desk, a chair, and some file storage.

The Work Surface

A handy pullout computer tray is a convenient office feature. By Wellborn Cabinets. The most important part of your home office is the work surface. It should be at a minimum 60" wide and 30" deep. Not surprisingly, that is the dimension of the most common office desk. A little wider is better, but beyond 72" items on the surface are outside most people's circle of reach. Deeper is not necessarily better. Beyond about 36" items are out of reach, but if you are using a CRT monitor or printer on your work surface, then a slightly deeper surface will put these items out of the way, behind the writing area at the front of the surface.

A well-organized credenza keeps files and supplies within the "circle of reach". By Wellborn Cabinets. A desk of some sort is the most common work surface. It has the advantage of being already done. All the usual facilities you need are built in — drawers, for example. Another common way of making a work surface is to span two base cabinets with a countertop. Typically good base cabinets cost less than a quality desk, so this is a good way of stepping up quality without stepping up cost. And you can get the features you want in customizable base cabinet modules rather than the features the deskmakers think you need.

If you think the idea of an office in a box is new...

The Wooten patented "Cabinet Office Secretary" was manufactured in a number of styles and with more or less Victorian elaboration by William S. Wooton for nearly 40 years from 1870 to 1907. The design of the desk provided an ingenious solution to the 19th century businessman's increasing problems of organization. It was advertised as combining "neatness, system and order," with "every particle of space practically utilized." With its 56 drawers and nearly as many slots and pigeon holes, the cabinet secretary was a smashing success — despite its hefty price tag (for the time) of $325.00 and up depending on decoration.

Even today, the Smithsonian Institution still uses its Wooton Patent Secretary, purchased new in 1876 - over one hundred and thirty years of continuous use.These beautiful, intricate, handcrafted cases now sell for well over $15,000 for a desk in good condition.

Absolutely no place for a computer, though. Many desks come with some sort of filing drawer. In most home offices, this is not nearly enough filing space. Our advice is to forgo the filing drawer in favor of a computer or printer shelf — someplace to stash the computer where it won't crowd your knee space — and use a mobile file cart to hold files you are immediately using. It can be parked out of the way when not needed.

A Comfortable Chair

The value of a comfortable chair cannot be overstressed. One can be acquired at most office supply stores — Office Depot, Office Max — for under $300.00. It is well worth the investment. You do not want a task chair, but an executive chair with tilt and swivel capability. Being able to lean back and put your feet up every once in a while cannot be overvalued as a very necessary home office function.

File Storage

A large four-drawer file cabinet is a must for most home offices. If yours is an office for working at home, several file cabinets are going to be necessary. Filing is a tiered storage process. The first tier is those files you are using now. These go in a mobile cart within the circle of reach. Next in the hierarchy are "current files", not in use at this moment, but that probably will be used sometime soon. These are in the secondary file storage in cabinets inside or near the home office. Finally there are closed or archived files — last year's tax records, for example. These need to be kept for a few years, but should be relegated to box storage in the basement or attic. This is what office management experts call "tertiary" storage.

Other Storage

Beyond file cabinets for document storage, any home office is going to need storage for office supplies: pens, computer paper, folders, envelopes in various sizes, catalogs and other reference materials. Here is where a good set of wall cabinets comes into its own. Installed over the work surface, these supplies are instantly accessible merely by standing up and opening a cabinet door.

For books the obvious solution is bookshelves. Less obvious, but well worth considering by those who don't really enjoy dusting shelves, are book cabinets with glass doors that allow you to see the books, but keep dust at bay. These surprisingly affordable cases can usually be exactly matched to your desk and cabinets for a unified look in your office.

Nor should you overlook the legions of accessories and organizes available for the home office. The organizer designers seem to have thought of every conceivable carton and container for all of your office needs. Clear plastic organizers make storing small items like pens and pencils, staples, paper clips and printer cartridges a snap. Magazine boxes store your journals neatly on the shelf in annual volumes. For the less industrial look, wicker baskets in a variety of sizes can store just about anything and keep it well organized.

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