The Home Office

Working from home offers many benefits, not least that you can create a comfortable and stylish environment to suit yourself.

More and more people work from home, sometimes for the sake of convenience, but often purely out of preference. The benefits are many - you save both time and money through not travelling to an office and you can plan your working environment to suit your particular needs. Even if you're not running a business from home, space-consuming or messy hobbies benefit from having their own space.

The solution lies in a disciplined approach to allotting and planning a room for your home office. How much space do you need? Is peace and quiet essential? Do you use noisy equipment that might disturb the rest of the family?

The answers to such questions may lead you to consider converting a loft, basement or garage, or even building an extension. But if these are not feasible options, think about transforming a spare bedroom or an under-used dining room into your home office.

A home office can operate efficiently without looking utilitarian. This photograph shows how the pine furniture includes attractive shelving around the window. The desk is placed under the window for optimum light, while the radiator underneath keeps the area warm. A venetian blind controls the amount of light entering the room.

There are now many interior designer and furniture retailers who offer home office advice, design and installation, as working from home is a fast growing market.