Where to Setup Your Home Office (Complete Guide)

Working from home has become the common way of working for most adults. But with a house full of family members, getting a suitable, quiet space to set up your work area can be challenging.

Setting up a home office is not easy, thus we’ve created a complete ergonomic home office setup guide together with the list of best home office essentials. These resources will help you in creating a workspace that you will love and enjoy.

While you can work anywhere in your home with a laptop. Knowing where to set up your home office can help you improve your work productivity and save you a lot of headaches.

So, where is the best place to set up your home office?

Where Are The Best Place to Set Up a Home Office?

A perfect home office setup for the long term should ideally be a separate space in your home that is properly fitted with remote work essentials; ranging from minimalist furniture and equipment to an ergonomic workplace.

Personal Home Office in a Designated Room

The best place to set up your home office will be in a designated room. It can be your spare room, guest room, your study room, or even your attic, the idea is to have a dedicated place where you can work without any interruptions.

Best of all, you can just shut the door at the end of your working day and disconnect yourself from work.

With a designated room such as your study room as your home office, you can be pretty sure that you will gain access to the power supply. It will usually be within the reach of your WIFI signal as well.

Furthermore, you can create your own personal space and let your creativity run wild. 

Who should set up their personal home office in a designated room?

Everyone! Well…almost…

Unless you have young kids who require consistent adult supervision or don’t have room to spare.

Creating your personal working space in a designated room is probably the best option for almost every remote-working employee.

Home Office in the Outdoors

Do you have a shed in your backyard?

You may consider covert your shed into your purpose-built home office!

Although it may not be the easiest way to set up your work area. You will have the full range of options to customize your “man cave”, or “woman cave” that will suit your taste.

Some companies supply purpose-built home offices fully fitted with power supplies and air conditioning.

While some readers may choose to DIY and build your outdoor home office. 

For those who love to DIY, you may consider getting an outdoor shed with windows, skylight, and flooring.

• Shed with Windows and Flooring
• Solar Generator with Panels
• WIFI extender/ booster

With such beautiful scenery outdoors, it will be sad if you can’t enjoy the scenery, doesn’t it?

Who can set up their personal home office outdoors?

Only for those with a backyard.

Well, not all people in the United States live in houses with massive backyards, some of us live in apartments.

Another consideration is safety.

You may not want to work in your outdoor home office in a rowdy neighborhood, nor do you want to stay in the shed when it is snowing heavily outside.

Getting an outdoor home office can help you improve your productivity with minimal disruptions and maximum focus.

Bedroom Office

Remote employees who live in smaller properties or apartments may want to convert their bedrooms into working spaces.

With an ergonomic chair and office desk, you can set up your laptop and start working within minutes.

You may even get tempted to get comfy in bed with some pillows and blankets.

Sounds good?

Not really…

In fact, doing your work and sleeping in the same place can become a problem.

You may not be able to disconnect after work, some even reported having trouble getting to sleep.

Why?

Working at the same place where you rest can have a negative impact on your mental health.

The lingering thoughts about the unfinished task from your workday can increase your work stress, thus affecting your ability to relax.

How to set up your home office if you are setting it up in your bedroom?

Change the things around in your room, so that they will look and feel different when you “start work” and “finish work”.

Things to change:

• Direction of your chair, a.k.a. the direction you will be facing when you are “in working state”, and “not in working state”.
• Simple decorations in your room; deco such as flower pots that are placed at the side of the work desk.
• Ambiance such as playing “office sounds” when you “start your workday”.

These simple changes will help your mentality to switch between, a “working state” and a “non-working state”.

Which allows you to focus when you are working and relax when you are not working.

Who may want to set up their home office in their bedroom?

If you are renting a room, living in an apartment, a small property, or living with many members of the family, a bedroom or office will be perfect for you.

Having a dedicated work configuration will help you concentrate better and be more productive.

Creatively Located Home Office

This includes your living room, dining room, kitchen, and any other place you can think of.

Not everyone can have a dedicated room set aside for work.

If that’s the case, you can find a place or area where your working life will not interfere too much with your home life or members of your family.

Home Office In The Living Room

Theoretically, the living room is the most common place to set up your work area, and it is one of the best alternatives if you do not have a room available for you to set up a dedicated workplace.

Although your living room is often the busiest part of your house, there are ways around it to make your living room a great place to work.

Instead of a dedicated room, you can set up a dedicated desk as your designated work area.

In order for you to create your designated work area, you can make some space in a corner of the living room to set up your working space. (Note: Set up your work area away from the TV)

Steps to create a designated work area in the living room:

1. Select a corner in your living room.
2. Get yourself an office desk, and an ergonomic office chair.
3. Get a small drawer to put your “office stuff”.
4. Put a sign called, “office” on the corner of your desk.
5. Grab your laptop and any other electronic devices.
6. Set up a professional-looking background. (Especially for those who need to perform video calls)
7. You’ve set up your living room home office!

A designated work area can help you focus at work, and disconnect after work.

A clearly designated work area is important when setting up your home office.

Who should consider setting up their home office in the living room?

Setting your home office in the living room might be the best option for young parents who need to watch over their young toddlers. 

This is especially important if you are the only adult at home that is available.

Home Office At The Dining Table

A dining table can be a great place to set up your work area.

Just clear out the space you’ll need for your laptop, documents, or even a headset with microphones, and you are good to go!

But as mealtime approaches, you may need to clear up your documents and work equipment. Thus, getting a small cabinet to keep your work stuff during mealtimes will be highly recommended.

Who may consider setting up their home office on a dining table?

Setting your home office at your dining table will be the next best option if you can’t get a designated room or a designated work area in your living room for your work.

With ample space available on the dining table for you to work, you can easily access your documents and complete your work.

Home Kitchen Office

Sitting on the breakfast bar, working on your report with fresh supplies of coffee and snacks sounds like a great location to set up your home office.

As long as you are not feeding your laptop with coffee stains and bread crumbs, working in the kitchen doesn’t sound too bad at all.

But similar to the dining table, you’ll probably need to clear your office stuff during mealtimes. Avoid working near any stove, as heat and steam are bad for electronics.

Who can consider setting their home office in the home kitchen?

Anyone can set up their home office in the kitchen, as long as it is not near a stove, or a sink, where there can be fire hazards, or electrical hazards if you are not careful.

Where NOT To Set up Your Home Office

There are places you can set up your home office, and places you should not. You will not be able to concentrate on your work, thus it should not be used as your work area.

The Sofa

Soft to the skin, and comfy to the touch, working on the sofa seems to be the perfect spot.

Just imagine, snuggling into the corner of the sofa, with your laptop on your knee, working on your reports, and collaborating with professionals around the world.

Working from the sofa seems like the perfect balance of comfort and creativity.

Regardless, your living room is also the busiest part of your house. Family members may want to watch TV and chill.

However lovely it can be, your work can be disrupted by cuddles and conversations.

It may not be the best place for you to work.

Bathroom

Even if you have an en suite bathroom, your bathroom should never be considered a place to work.

Electronics and water don’t mix well.

Not only it is totally unhygienic to work in the bathroom, but you will also have endless disruptions throughout the day as each family member use the bathroom.

Lastly, working in the bathroom is just weird… imagine having a video conference in the bathroom…Stop that!

What Things to Consider When Setting Up Your Home Office?

Here are a few helpful questions to help you in deciding where to set up your home office.

Working Online

1. Do you have a strong and stable internet connection that allows you to perform your work effectively?
2. Do you need to boost your WIFI signal?
3. Do you have the equipment required for a good internet connection?

Video Conference

1. Do you require regular video conferences or meeting with your colleagues?
2. Is the workplace you choose noisy or quiet?
3. What kind of background do you want to show your colleagues?

Remote Working with Kids

1. Do you have kids at home?
2. Do you need a quiet and dedicated place to work without distractions?
3. Are your kids very young and require adult supervision?
4. Do you have someone to help take care of the kids while you focus on your work?
5. If you are the only one who can supervise your kids, can you find a place big enough where it allows you to supervise your kids while you are still able to focus on your work?

Where Will I Set Up My Home Office?

As a young couple without kids, when given a choice. I’ll set up my home office in this order of preference.

1. Spare Room/Attic (Dedicated Room)
2. Outdoor Home Office (Shed)
3. Living Room (Designated Area)
4. Bedroom (Designated Configurations)
5. Dining Table
6. Kitchen Table

The chair you sit on and the desk you used for working are the most important pieces of furniture for a productive home office.

Thus, we’ve created a complete guide to set up your ergonomic home office.

Feel free to check that out next!

Read Also: