Home office renovations in Edmonton are on the rise.
Are you planning on continuing to work remotely? Or maybe you’re part of the great resignation and have decided to run your own business? Today we are going to tell you how to design the ultimate home office renovations when working remotely with the right professional advice so you can be more productive and organized working from home.
We all know that more employers in Edmonton are embracing the hybrid business model, allowing team members to work partially or completely from home. This is largely an after effect of the pandemic. Business owners are also now more likely to choose to operate from home rather than pay the overhead of an off-site office.
If you are exploring this possibility, or if you are looking to get off the kitchen table for work, we have some great suggestions for what to focus on when creating your custom home office.
Here’s what we recommend:
Choose the location first.
It’s likely that you don’t have a designated room for working from home, or if you do, it isn’t in the ideal spot (dingy basement rooms with very little natural light rarely end up getting used).
One of the possibilities would be to build a room within a larger room in your home to create an office space. With the help of a reputable contractor, you can build new walls or if needed, knock down walls and move them to create a new office space.
You don’t need as much of a footprint as you may think, and even a well-designed smaller home office can be very functional and attractive. Adding an office to your floor plan also helps increase the value of the home.
Smart space planning.
When it comes to working from home you want to make sure you have everything you need right there with you. Determine what tasks you do the most and work with a designer to be sure the space is planned accordingly. For example, if you do a lot of printing, make sure the printer is either within reach of your desk, or that you don’t have to walk around anything to get to it.
Having a professional contractor measure for custom wall units and build them to spec creates a clean aesthetic that also maximizes usable space.
You can customize shelving to include open shelves for books, a printer nook, shelves with doors to lock away sensitive documents and even build in a filing system and drawers for extra storage.
When it comes to your desk, this is the cornerstone of your workspace. If your desk isn’t suitable for you then this can cause several problems including back pain, repetitive strain injury and decreased productivity.
Improper placement or a desk that doesn’t fit the scale of the room is a common issue in home offices. A monster-size desk that takes up too much space looks ugly and is hard to walk around as you go in and out throughout the day. Too small and it gets lost in the space and likely won’t give you enough space when you need to spread out your work.
If you order a desk, be sure to work with your designer & contractor so they can recommend the proper size, shape and placement before they start construction on the room.
Sound Insulation
Working from home can come with its fair share of distractions. On the flipside, you can also be a distraction for others working or living in your home. Sound proofing can help you stay more focused and allow you to conduct meetings without your colleagues hearing kids crying or dogs barking in the background.
It’s important to remember that you should always consult a professional contractor when it comes to installing sound insulation. A reputable contractor will use the right products and install them properly.
Air Quality
Finally, if your office space is drafty, gets cold throughout the day or is stifling hot when the door is closed, it’s going to affect your productivity and how much you actually use the space. This is an especially important thing to consider for a home office renovation in Edmonton’s climate where it’s frigid in the winter and extremely hot in the summer.
Airflow is important and is something not always considered. A couple of ways to improve air flow are to insert a window if you don’t have one in the room already or expand a small window. If you’re going with an existing window, ensure it is properly sealed or even replaced if it’s old.
Next, your office renovation should include the installation of proper ventilation in the room such as air intake vents and heating/cooling vents, that are appropriate to the size of the room.
Finally, if your office will be upstairs and the ceiling butts up to the roof, it’s important to check that the insulation is sufficient in the attic space, otherwise the office will be at the mercy of cold and hot temperature extremes.
Dream Big
It’s important to not think “too small” about a home office renovation. If it’s a space you will be spending hours in every day, don’t shy away from going all-in on specific features. For example, you can adapt your home office for summer weather by adding bifold French doors or floor to ceiling windows that lead to an outside deck, patio or garden. This allows you to merge your interior and exterior space, providing wellbeing benefits while working from home while also allowing for ample natural light.
Ready to renovate your home office? At Lambert Brothers, we take pride in making sure our last job is our best job. If you live in Edmonton, Sherwood Park or the surrounding areas, contact us today and let us help you turn your home office dreams into reality!
