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June 1, 2006
• Vol.3 Issue 6 Page(s) 43-45 in print issue | |
Organize Your Home Office Create A Practical, Inviting Workspace | |
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Planning and organizing a home office begins with your computing needs. What kind of PC or notebook should you buy? How big of a hard drive do you need? Which programs should you run? Buying your PC, however, is just one of many things to do when creating a home office. Once you select a place in your home for the office, whether it’s a whole room or just a corner in a multipurpose room, you need to select furniture, storage, and accessories.
 Fun Assembly Required The words “some assembly required” may send shivers down your spine. It’s one thing to assemble a child’s toy; it’s quite another to put together furniture that comes with confusing instructions, flimsy hardware, and an incomplete set of screws. One company, though, makes assembly-required furniture that’s uniquely appealing and a snap to put together. Legaré Furniture (www.legarefurniture.com) manufactures shelves, computer desks and extensions, media stands, bookcases, and letter file carts that require no tools. The pieces lock together, so not only can you assemble a desk in just a few minutes, you can take it apart or rearrange parts of it just as easily—something you can’t do with other assembly-required furniture. Legaré Furniture pieces are made of birch and come in either a natural or gorgeous espresso finish. Pieces in the espresso line cost more than the natural ones. Start with a straight ($299 and up) or corner ($489 and up) desk and then add a desk peninsula ($249 and up), media stand ($319 and up), or book case ($249 and up). Letter-size ($69 and up) and legal-size ($79) file carts come with four removable casters, so you can stack the carts by removing the casters. Leave them on the bottom cart to roll the stacked unit. Legaré Furniture works especially well in small office areas. This line has enough pieces to fill an entire office, and you can choose from several sizes for each item—the media stand comes in four sizes, for instance—to accommodate your space. The Minimalist Look The clean lines and less formal look of the Minima collection from WorkSpaces (www.workspaces.com) make this furniture ideal for anyone whose space needs are minimal: a desk for the computer and perhaps a pedestal or lateral file cabinet. Minima furniture is available in cordovan walnut, pearwood, and maple laminate finish. The key piece is the Minima corner desk ($679), which comes with either black or silver legs. You can add shelves ($120) on either the right or left side and above or below the desk. Install a shelf below the desk for an ideal spot for a printer or scanner, for instance. Other items in the collection include a peninsula table ($349), return table ($195), lateral file cabinet ($1,044), and pedestal file cabinet ($538). The cabinets are available in black or silver with wood trim. Plus, you can buy wood tops for the cabinets ($80 and up) that match the laminate finish on your desk. WorkSpaces also sells the Interactive collection, a line of higher-end, customizable office furniture ideal for professionals who work from their homes. Pieces come in four finishes: walnut, pearwood, and maple laminate and the higher-priced cherry veneer. The wing-top desk ($1,119 and up) is equipped with two shelves and a keyboard tray. Like the Minima collection, you can complement the desk with many other pieces, such as the peninsula extender table ($135) or an arc conference table ($315 and up), a good addition if you need to consult with co-workers or customers in your home office. One final piece of the office furniture puzzle is a chair with lumbar support. The Highly Adjustable Celle Chair by Herman Miller ($629; www.officedesigns.com) is an attractive and comfortable choice. Select from six color options and, for an additional charge ($40), get two sets of casters, one for standard carpet and one for hardwood floors. Kent Matthes from All Makes Office Equipment in Omaha, Neb., highly recommends the Allsteel #19 ($900; www.allsteeloffice.com). This chair, made from 100% recycled aluminum, has a lifetime guarantee and comes in your choice of 13 upholstery colors. “You’ll never buy another chair,” Matthes says. Small Storage Needs
San Francisco-based Stacks and Stacks (www.stacksandstacks.com) sells affordable organizers. We like the CD Organizer ($45.99), a cherry-finish, hardwood unit that fits on a desktop, cabinet top, or shelf. It holds 24 CDs and features a sliding door to hide the contents. A slide-out drawer at the bottom holds small items, such as earbuds or cabinet keys. The less-formal 38 CD Rack ($19.99) is an 18-inch wide unit that you can stack on other racks of the same design to expand your storage space. A few of these walnut-finish racks could hold all favorite music CDs, plus your photo CDs, as well. If you have room for a media storage cabinet, the Southern Enterprises Mission Media Storage Cabinet ($187.50) from Racks and Stands (www.racksandstands.com) is a good choice. This oak cabinet with inlaid glass doors can store more than 300 CDs or up to 166 DVDs. Or to save floor space, look for a wall-mounted media storage unit, such as the Prepac Double Floating Wall Storage ($129). It holds 349 CDs or 142 DVDs and comes in all black or a black and cherry wood finish. You also can purchase it in single- ($105) or triple-width ($269.95) sizes. If music storage and high-quality playback is a must, take a look at the amazing, but expensive, MusicGiant SoundVault ($9,500; www.allwired.com). This Windows XP Media Center-based server lets you download music files in the WMA lossless format ($1.29 each; www.musicgiants.com) and convert your CDs into that same digital format. The quality is considerably better than that of compressed audio files, such as MP3s. The SoundVault supports Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections, has 380GB of storage, and comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. Besides the obvious (a desktop PC or notebook), don’t forget other essentials that’ll enhance your work space. If space is a premium, consider a multifunction device for all of your peripheral needs. The Canon imageCLASS MF3240 ($199; www.canonusa.com) functions as a laser printer, fax, color scanner, and copier. The device bundles scanning software and a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed cable, too. (See the “The Lowdown On USB Cables” sidebar for more on keeping track of your devices’ cables.) For extra data storage, invest in an external hard drive from Seagate (www.seagate.com). The portable 3.5-inch Push Button Backup External Hard Drive is available with USB 2.0 or USB/FireWire connectivity. The USB 2.0 models come in 250GB ($199) up to 500GB capacities, and the USB/FireWire models run from 200GB ($189) of storage space up to 500GB. With one of these drives, you can expand your PC’s storage capabilities and have a safe place to hold photos, Word files, spreadsheets, PDF documents, video clips, and other files critical for your work. Another practical addition is a radial arm for flat-panel monitors, so you can position your computer screen in multiple ways. WorkSpaces sells a flat-panel radial arm ($225) in silver or black that has a 2-foot horizontal range and 16-inch vertical range, with 360-degree swivel. It can hold monitors from 10 to 22 pounds. Best yet, the arm has a cable management system, so you can keep the monitor’s cord out of sight. (See the “Tame Your Cords” sidebar for more information on organizing cords, cables, and wires.) Personalize It As you piece together a well-planned home office, remember to include personal touches. Framed art and photos, mementos, music, scents, and more will transform your functional work space into a personal sanctuary.  by Rachel Derowitsch
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