How to Build a Safe & Productive Home Office

Now that more people are working remotely (at least on occasion), cabinet makers and designers are seeing demand for custom built home offices.

At the beginning of the pandemic, people were quickly working from home without much thought about their workstation. Many were working on kitchen benches, dining room tables or even on the couch, which isn’t recommended as a sustainable remote working solution.

To maximise productivity, you’ll need to build your clients a functional, safe and inviting space. We hope that these quick tips help make the design process easier.

Having cables scattered around the room is a safety hazard and an eyesore.

Simply looking at a set of jumbled cables is enough to make your brain feel cluttered. Working from home can be challenging as it is, with many people trying to block out distractions like busy families and pets.

To help, here are some effective cable management solutions.

Cable entry caps that can be built into desks with neat lead caves through to workstations.

Catch up cable clamps are fire-resistant, keep cables together, tidy and safe and prevent a tripping hazard. See before and after example below:

A range of various cable outlets from BMB are available to organise the workstation.

Think about how the modern remote worker spends their day. They have multiple devices - laptops, mobile phones, tablets, speakers, screens and more, and nobody wants these devices scattered across their desks.

Cabinetmakers and designers should provide solutions to store items away neatly, while still making them easily accessible. For example, a drawer system with various dedicated compartments can be used to store away electronics and other accessories. There could even be additional cabinets with space for larger devices such as printers and scanners.

Your customers could be working with confidential or private documents that will need to be secured. Our popular lock from BMB - named the BMB double door auto catch, black plastic, three-piece set is an ingenious solution that can securely lock a double door without any additional bars or strikers. Check out the short video below to learn how it works.

It might also be worth mentioning the benefits of an in-built desk and shelving. This is a great way to help the desk and shelves blend in nicely with any surrounding cabinetry or furniture.

3) Ergonomics

An important part of a safe office, whether at home or not, is ensuring that it is ergonomically designed.

Typically, customers will select their own office chairs. However, you can create a desk space that allows users to spread out comfortably and position screens at eye level in a neutral position.

4) Lighting

Eye strain is a real issue for those who spend a majority of their lives in front of screens. We suggest setting up the office in a way that allows for the lighting to be distributed evenly throughout the room as this helps with reading and/or looking at screens. Poor lighting will often cause eyes to work overtime in a dark space.

Conclusion

Moving forward, many companies are working with flexibility and the demand for custom home offices is likely to grow.

The best cabinetmakers will think objectively about a home office and build a space where people will love working for years to come.

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