Five Essential Questions to Consider When Designing Your Home Office


Converting an existing room into a home library or office is a popular trend among many homeowners. Some homeowners may be avid readers and prefer a quiet environment where they can read with less likelihood of noisy interruptions.

Having a home office is equally practical if an employer provides a telecommuting option or when the homeowner runs a business from that home office. The option of telework is a growing trend in the U.S. business world. As blogger Jesse Aaron of New York start-up business advisor company Get Busy Media noted in a February 2014 blog post “Vital Small Business Statistics, Trends And Facts for 2014,” more than 16 million people work from home in the United States and the number of people working from home is expected to increase by 64% in the next four years.

Before the creation of a home library or office, it’s wise to think about its requirements ahead of time to produce the desired environment. Here are five essential questions to consider prior to cabinetry construction:

  1. What are the storage needs? If the space is a home library, the shelving should be both large and sturdy to accommodate the size and weight of a large book collection, decorations and memorabilia. For a home office, shelving provides a convenient area to store manuals and reference books next to a work computer for easy access. Similarly, add drawers and smaller storage cabinets to hold items used less frequently, such as printer paper and business cards.
  1. Where is the ideal place for an office desk? If the cabinetry includes a built-in desk, the desk should be large enough to hold essential office equipment such as computer equipment, a telephone, a notepad for jotting notes and an organizer for pens, staplers and paper clips. The work area should also have good lighting, whether that lighting comes from an overhead light, a desktop lamp or a window.
  1. What atmosphere should the home library or office generate for family members and visitors? Depending upon the cabinetry’s finish, the room could have a light, airy and modern effect or a more traditional, classic look using darker finishes.
  1. Will some items need extra security? For a family with small, inquisitive toddlers, installing locks on some cabinet doors keeps curious fingers from finding and damaging computer equipment stored inside smaller cabinets. In addition, the locks serve as an extra barrier against intruders.
  1. Where are the electrical outlets and phone jacks in the room? Computers, surge protectors and phones have power cords that may need to be threaded through cabinet holes to reach wall-mounted electrical sockets and phone jacks.

Walmer Enterprises can easily create customized cabinetry for a home office or library. We use eco-friendly construction materials of the finest quality and provide in-home consultations, one-on-one meetings with our designers, complete installations and a 12-month warranty. Contact us to learn more details about converting a room into a home office or library or adding customized cabinetry to a home under construction. 703.461.9330