Desks Can Make or Break Your Home Office

Okay, you have decided to set up a home office and start your own business. Now what do you do?

First you must have a plan - otherwise, why do this? Working for yourself is hard, It requires much more discipline that most people are willing to undergo. One of the problems that causes the early failure of a small business, is lack of structure. Yes, you can get up when you want and stay in your P.J.'s all day, but you will find that you must treat your business as a business, You also have to be the most rigorous boss you have ever have. I am not saying that you need to punch a time clock. I am saying that you have to set up rules for yourself and boundaries that you need to follow.

The good news is that you are the one who sets those boundaries. Make sure that they are strict enough so you are productive.

What does that mean? Sometimes, it is just clearing off and organizing your space (including the top of your desk!) so you are ready to work when you sit down each morning.

It is important to have a schedule that you stick to on a daily basis. Can you vary it - absolutely. If you have a child's play or event, make sure that you take time for those type of happenings. After all, didn't you decide to go to work for yourself so your family life would be better. All to often, if your business grows larger, time will slip away way too fast and you will miss important parts of being a family.

Anyway, once you are fairly well organized, look to getting yourself a good desk from which you will base your daily actions. Furniture does not make an business but it sure helps create the space.

Let's look at several different styles of home office desk so you can pick one that is right for you. Clean Shaker lines or the heavy lines of a hand carved desk, which will you choose.

The Tuscan Trestle Writing table is a lovely choice, quiet, sedate and elegant in its presentation. this will give you are marvelous space on which to work.

One of the things about working from home is that your office does not need to be 'finished' all at once. You can select a style, start with one or two pieces and then continue to add more furniture as the budget allows.

I love the simple, clean lines of this Shaker style office. The library tables are combined to give you a large desk . You can have one table to start on which you build the rest of your office around.

The addition of bookcases, available in various heights, will give your office a wall of the required books for our chosen business venture and also room for some nice personal touches of art, awards or whatever you want to display.

Matching file cabinet that is the same height as the tables not only extend the complied desk top but can double as a printer stand if you wish. I somehow always end up with more than one double drawer filing cabinet in any home office that I set up. One drawer is used for long term filing - papers regarding any assets, original invoices, warranty papers, that type of thing. Another drawer is used for last year's information including taxes and the tax software used to calculate and submit both state and federal taxes. (Prior years information are placed in storage boxes and filed away for the required length of time before being destroyed.)

Current year information including any on-going projects are in the file cabinet closest to the desk for easy access and good organization.

Anyway, you can start with one table, one filing cabinet and, if the budget allows, one bookcase, plus the chair. Get yourself a good chair. You will be spend a lot of time in it, so do not wait to buy a good chair.

Select your business tools with care. When selecting computers, talk to professional people who know how to put together the right computer tools for you. Desktop models are powerful but awkward to move. There are some awesome laptops that can handle just about anything you will want to do with the advantage of being mobile. This is a great help if you do any traveling - you can take your 'office' with you.

Writing tables are a throw back to an earlier time in our history when people actually sat down and wrote with pen and ink. That time is reflected in this table that is built after the fashion of 19th century English writing tables with a twist. The table is constructed so that a laptop computer fits nicely on the desk top that is exposed when the top is folded back, exposing the writing surface plus drawers in which to keep your writing supplies handy while out of sight.

There are so many nice features about a desk like this. The matching chair completes the elegant look and feel of this small writing table. If your office is simply a part of the living room for now, think about using a piece of furniture that not only is handsome but also very functional as well.

There are times when you just have to feel the weight of traditional furniture around you. Often that time is when you are setting up your home office.

The Italian styling is unmistakable in this set and does nothing more than to show off your good taste while giving you a great office in which you will be spending hours. The comfort of sitting behind a desk that is functional and striking can propel you to greater heights.

Sometimes you do not want a large desk but you like the idea of the traditional furniture. This computer writing desk in one of the more handsome examples that I have seen in a long time. Made from solid wood pieces, the styling and workmanship causes you to stop and think about what you are using for a desk. The styling is absolutely the same as the group above so yes, you can mix and match however you want.

Bottom line this is an extraordinary desk.

Although we have only touched on a few examples of your home office desk choices, you know that there are many, many choices; from very inexpensive to very costly, remember it your home office desk. You are the one who will sitting behind it, using your desk and office space for many days to come. So pick something that you will enjoy.