Right now, Kiplinger has a cool list of nine things you can do to spruce up your home. I was looking through the list, and some of them are a little pricey. But the first item on the list caught my eye: Create an office nook. Kiplinger claims it will only cost about $250. And, of course, for the work at home professional, it is a great move to make — especially if you can’t dedicate an entire room to your home office.

Why A Dedicated Home Office Space is a Good Idea

If you are interested in being an entrepreneur, it is a good idea to have some sort of dedicated workspace. Having a home office not only helps you with a tax deduction for business use of your home, but it also creates an area that is set up for doing work related to your home business. This can help you focus more on your business, and it provides a clear line between business, and what goes on in the rest of the house.

I don’t have an entire room to myself, but I do have a dedicated home office space, complete with computer desk, printer table and a bit of wall space where I can hang award plaques and diplomas. It provides a more professional feel that allows me to get in “the zone” when it comes to business functions. My productivity is much higher when I am in my home office space than when I’m sitting on the couch with a laptop.

Creating a Small Home Office Space

Kiplinger recommends that you take a closet and turn it into an office nook. This is a cool idea, and fairly simple. Clean out the closet, and then remove the hanging bar. Re-paint to spruce things up and add a few personal touches. Kiplinger points out that you can set up a desk in there, as well as other things that you need, like a rolling or hanging file, and your printer. The publication mentions that there is even a product called “Office in a Closet” that sells for about $232 from the Container Store. That’s pretty slick.

But you don’t need to appropriate a closet to set up your home office space. My home office is in an extra room that we use for some storage, and that we use for extra sleeping space if the guest bedroom has been taken. I take up one corner of it, facing a wall, with the window to my right. I’ve added a plant to the side, and a few small touches to make it feel like “my” area. You can do something similar in a room of your home.

If you need to carve out a home office niche somewhere else, you can take a small corner of a family room. You can get folding screens to demarcate your area if you want the separation from the rest of the room. Close off 1/2 or 2/3 of the area to make it clear that you’ve got a home office area, but don’t completely close yourself in; many people don’t like feeling as though they are in a cubicle in their own home.

How do you create a home workspace?

Miranda

Miranda

Miranda is freelance journalist. She specializes in topics related to money, especially personal finance, small business, and investing. You can read more of my writing at Planting Money Seeds.