Study or dining table? The home office has become an indispensable part of the modern working world, especially since Corona. And even after Corona, many employers and employees have discovered the advantages of working from home and use it at least a few days a week.
As sensible as working within your own four walls is - keyword: no commuting, time saving, and flexibility - it is just as difficult for many people to move their workplace home, especially in small apartments.
Anyone who wants to work from home needs a good sense of how their home office should be set up. In some apartments, entire rooms are available for work, in others only small corners or just the dining table. But even with little space, a good home office can be set up with a few resources. If you don't want to regret it later, you should consider a few things in the planning beforehand.
Working in your own study
The ideal case is certainly having your own study. This can then be set up as the home worker needs it, with a good desk, storage space for office supplies and documents, and surfaces for technical equipment.
The most important piece of furniture in a study is, of course, the desk. This is where most office workers spend most of their time, and therefore, it should be given the most attention. Especially at home, the workplace should not only be functional but also a little beautiful, as this promotes creativity and contributes to good work performance - a good choice here, for example, is a beautiful, rustic live edge table.
What should you consider when choosing a desk?
Today, most work at a desk is done with a computer. This means it should offer enough space for a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and possibly a printer, as well as any other necessary utensils you need at your workplace.
The absolute size of the footprint is important. An ideal desktop is 120 to 200 cm long and about 80 cm deep. This is important to achieve an eye-friendly distance between the monitor and the user; the monitor distance to the eyes should be about 60 to 70 cm to enable fatigue-free work.
A sufficient basic area makes a big difference, as it allows you to arrange your work tools exactly according to your needs. The more often you use an item, the closer it should be to you.
Besides the table surface itself, the desk height is also important. This should be at least 70 cm to allow ergonomic working for adults. With lower tables, a curved posture will result, which is anything but ergonomic.
The frame for a desk is another important criterion. It must ensure a wobble-free stand and not disturb the legs of the person sitting at the desk. It is ideal if the desk is height-adjustable via the frame and even allows standing work. You can choose such desk frames with height adjustment directly when purchasing the desk or (usually more cost-effectively) assemble a tabletop with a lift frame yourself.
Alternatively, in larger studies, you can set up a separate standing desk and use it for phone calls, for example. For smaller desks, you may need a separate storage space for printers and paper. In confined spaces, a console table is suitable, or in slightly larger rooms, a sideboard, in which you can then conveniently store other things.
Drawers and cabinets on or near the desk provide additional storage space within reach. These are either already integrated into the workplace or can be placed in the form of rolling containers.
The second most important investment for the home office is the office chair. You should not skimp here, because the more often the chair is used, the more important comfort, convenience, and ergonomics are. The wrong chair can lead to unpleasant tension. Height-adjustable chairs can also be used by other family members if needed. To protect the floor from the wheels of an office chair, a floor protection mat makes sense. These are available for carpets or hard floors, or for standing desks, even as an anti-fatigue mat with a cushioning effect when standing at the desk.
Working at the dining table or kitchen table
If there is no separate study at home, often the only option is to convert the domestic dining table into a desk. A dining room table is a versatile piece of furniture. Therefore, it is not surprising that it often has to serve as a desk - whether only for occasional writing or in the home office as a permanent workspace for a normal workday.
In terms of surface area and height, a dining table can easily be used as a desk; the ergonomic requirements for working and eating are quite identical. With reasonably large dining tables, it is often possible to 'reserve' a part of the dining table for work without problems. The work and dining areas can then, for example, be visually separated with a few accessories to delineate the areas from each other. If the entire table is needed for a larger meal, you can simply clear away office supplies and use the dining room table for its original function.
Extendable dining tables or tables with extension leaves are, of course, an interesting alternative here. The additional workspace gained by the leaf can be used for work, while the actual dining area remains untouched by office work.
Very important: Create and maintain order on the table
The dining table is a popular place to put all sorts of things. Plates, bowls, and decorative elements get in the way if you have to convert your dining table into a desk.
Tip: Avoid excessive decoration and don't use the dining table too much as a convenient storage area - sufficient storage space within reach is helpful here....
In short: Make sure you can always and easily transform your dining table into your workspace.
Where to put office supplies when the dining table is fully needed?
Storage space in the dining room can be created with a sideboard and shelf, or existing furniture can be used with a little rearranging to accommodate laptops, specialized literature, folders, and writing materials.
Here's the rule: Organized storage makes it easier to find things again, and it simply looks better than if everything is just thrown 'in a pile'.
In the dining area, coziness is paramount - and this should not be compromised by work. On the contrary: if your dining room furniture looks stylish and the dining area feels inviting, your home office will look much less like a dreary workplace and increase your well-being, which in turn will positively affect the quality of your work.
The right chair for the home office
As in the study, the desk chair is crucial for fatigue-free and ergonomic work at the dining table as well. You will spend many hours on it during your workday. The chair should allow for a straight posture and enable you to place your feet flat on the floor.
The classic dining chair usually does not meet these requirements, so a suitable office chair is a must even at the dining table. If the chair is in the way after work: You can easily roll it into a corner or another room thanks to its castors.
Don't underestimate technology and lighting
Every home worker needs a certain amount of technology. The laptop is the smallest problem; it can simply be folded up and put away. It gets trickier with a possibly needed printer, fax, or scanner. The most space-saving option here are multifunction devices that can also be connected via Wi-Fi and then perhaps placed in another room. This also helps you avoid the cable clutter that exists in some studies and that you certainly don't want at the dining table.
For lighting, an additional light source with bright, cool light is probably necessary for the work area. The normal dining table lighting will be insufficient in most cases and is also usually warmer and less intense in color temperature. An additional desk lamp, a floor lamp, or an uplighter with appropriate bulbs would be a good idea here to enable concentrated work for longer periods, even in the darker seasons.
