Investing in your own "Work From Home" office.

[Eric Renderking Fisk]

I wasn't sure where to put this tread, I was debating on whether or not to put this under "Your Own Art" or here.

Just as the topic says I've been thinking about the topic of investing in your own "Work From Home" office; how far should you go and what should you hold back? My wife and I have three desks, two in the room where I do most of my writing and graphics called "Eric's Office" where I also have some of my favorite Vintage/Period film paraphernalia hanging up. I have three computers in this room, I have a Gateway Server that was slicked with a version of Linxus/FedoraOS in the basement. I've been thinking that I would be wise to use all of my student discounts now to buy a matte cutting board, a large a case or two of black core black mat boards and all the other supplies I can think of before I go about doing Graphic Design in the real world. I'm trying to think in advance about the other equipment and supplies that will be essential once I finish this degree and move on into the next phase of my life and have a large portion of my basement dedicated to printing and mounting. (That's not what you think it means... unless you think it means applying finished printed material upon mat board.)

I'm sure that the first reaction people will have to this question is; "Well, it all depends on the situation," but I'm wondering how far should someone go when creating work space in your own home? What's the line you should never cross? Perfect example is my dad - he would convert his children's bedrooms into his own workspace if he could have gotten away with it. That's WAY too far. What's far enough, but not too far?

[Super Ordinary Guy]

Like you said that is going to be a personal decision..... You know how much equipment is necessary and how much you would like to have... Yes two different answers there....

Then there is the matter of you and your wife sharing an area......

In my case, I am a neatnik and my wife is a pack rat... somehow we manage to share an office, probably because she is away from home much more than she is at home......

So the shared office is probably 75% mine, 25% hers..... She also has one other room in the house, most of the two car garage, her farm and a cabin we recently built on the farm.....

I told you she was a pack rat ...

So this works for us, well sort of,,,,,

If you want MHO it sounds to me like in your case two areas are required. The one you two share now plus room in the basement.. You can add the bigger pieces of equipment into the basement while keeping the room upstairs a more refined work area with personal collectibles along with computers and desks..

When I had my gun business I remodeled the basement to accommodate all that I needed for a showroom, plus safes , reloading bench and related paraphernalia for sale . I also had my computer office upstairs.

While working as a civilian for the Army I had everything in my office . By everything I mean a network at home with servers, laptop, workstations etc....

So how much equipment will you want / need.... I will get anything that helps me with the job I am doing.. If that means another server, then so be it but that is me... Other people will only buy and install what is necessary saving money and space...

So YOU make the decision how much space YOU need, how much equipment YOU need and how will those answers work with your family....

I remember when doing computer work my then wife walking into the office one night with my daughter in hand and a picture of me in a frame.. She stood in front of me and said to my daughter:

"See that is your daddy there" while pointing at the picture and then at me....

Obviously I was forsaking time with my daughter and wife for time on the computer....and we all know 6 hours on the computer doing what you like goes by like 6 minutes and we lose track of life....

So this probably didn't help you too much, but really may have saved you time trying to weed through all the what should I do stuff ... Make up two lists, what do you need and what do you want.. as far as equipment and space and then talk it over with your wife and what she needs and wants. it will probably all become very clear after that...

At least I hope it does.....

[Cousi]

As always, sage advice SOG. My take on it is this: I personally need to be locked away from distractions when working (which for me right now means writing and looking for jobs on the internet). If I were to have a 'home office' then it would have to be a room where the door closes and locks while I'm working. The kids and my wife know that I don't handle distractions well so if I were to have an office and close the door, they'd know I didn't want to be disturbed. They'd probably do it anyway, but then I'd at least feel like I'm justified in getting angry.

If you're the kind of guy that can deal with the distractions, then do what works. You've got to know what you need to do in order to get the job done. If you're working freelance from home, then it's easy to go overboard with it. What you need isn't the same as what you want. I want an office with dedicated internet independent of the rest of the house, a generator for power backup, a door that locks and an intercom between it and the rest of the house. What I need is a computer with access to the internet.

Where you draw the line is when your wife shows up with your kid and a picture identifying you as "Daddy"; then you've gone too far.

[Super Ordinary Guy]

Where you draw the line is when your wife shows up with your kid and a picture identifying you as "Daddy"; then you've gone too far.

[Cousi]

We all need indicators my friend! My wife's wake up call to me was when she asked me when my daughter's birthday was and I didn't know.

[Major Eaton]

How much does the office pay for the home? If the office, puts the roof over the home, a good deal of priority should be on the office.