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5 Things Every Home Office Needs

BySarah Gibson
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5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comAs students are heading back to school, I always enjoy getting organized during the “back to school” season.. even though I’m no longer a student or have children of my own to send off. I always take this time of year as an opportunity to clean, organize, refresh my home, update my wardrobe, and get my ducks in row. Over the weekend, I cleaned and organized my home office, which got me thinking… it has been five months since I moved into my newly renovated home office. Time flies! I have to say, it has been a dream working in this space everyday. I feel very fortunate to have a functional space I love! As of now, I can honestly say there isn’t a single thing I would change, in regards to design, functionality, and layout. I thought it may be helpful to share five things I really pushed for and solved in my home workspace. Perhaps some of these aren’t things you would necessarily add to the top of your list when designing an office, but they’ve been a game changer for me. I think a few of these are often overlooked. Click through for 5 things every home office needs, and how I use them in my own space on the daily… 

1. Ample Power & Accessible Outlets

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comHaving ample power and places to plug-in is very important in an office space. We made sure to plan and install plenty of outlets in smart locations throughout my office that are easy to access (inside the cabinets, on each wall, in the floor, etc). I’ve chatted about how much I love having floor outlets in this room, as they are discreet and the best way to hide computer cords.

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comI also highly recommend having a wireless desktop charging station. They make some pretty leather ones that can be monogrammed and it’s the easiest way to charge devices… rest your phone on the block while you work. At our Tuesday Made office, we have these lamps that have charging bases. You can rest your phone on the base for a quick charge. These handy charging devices are a must- and a great way to avoid a cord jungle.

2. Wireless & Hidden Devices

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comMy favorite functional thing in my office is a simple one… it’s my wireless printer. Why? Because printers are necessary for an office, but they’re such an eyesore! I love that mine lives behind closed cabinet doors. I hit the print button on my computer and can hear it magically doing its thing- alll out of sight… no cords needed. It’s the best setup! I definitely recommend integrating outlets into cabinetry or furniture for this reason.

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comHide your bulky office equipment and tech behind closed doors for a clean look that is still highly functional. The same holds true for cordless or bluetooth office tech. Definitely go wireless when you can to avoid cords. My keyboard and mouse are both wireless, which makes my desktop look much cleaner.

3. A Well-Lit Vignette with a Nice Background

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comI’ve worked from home for almost a decade now and I’m very accustomed to virtual meetings. I usually have 2-3 per week. In the age of working from remote locations, believe when I say- you definitely want to take into consideration your background when designing a workspace. In my office, I face the french doors, which means my background is always the gallery wall and credenza behind me.

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comThe windows provide adequate side light, and I have a clip on light I can easily add to my computer if it’s dark or cloudy outside- or if it’s later in the evening. I think having a professional looking backdrop is ideal for virtual meetings, but more importantly- it’s just nice to work in a beautiful space that feels intentional.

4. Organized Storage

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comBefore moving into my office, I ordered some inexpensive desk organizers. I also bought some file bins, baskets, and lidded totes to keep paperwork, swatches, and samples organized. I function best when everything has a place and is put away.. I don’t work well when my desk looks unorganized and chaotic. I definitely recommend organizational items that can help maximize your storage space, while keepings things highly functional.

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comDon’t just throw things into a desk drawer or cabinet- be intentional and find some containers that work well for you. Having done both, my productivity and mental health is always best when I feel organized.

5. Excellent Wifi

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comThis one may be obvious, but this is one point I’ve struggled with in the past… implementing good wifi. During my office renovation, I setup a temporary space in the empty room across the entry. Evening moving 30 feet had a drastic effect on my connection. I struggled with the speed of my internet, things took forever to load, virtual meetings were a disaster, and my connection was always subpar. Since we live pretty high in the mountains, we only have two wifi providers available to us (neither of which are fiber), so despite having the fastest package available, we struggled.

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comOur solution? We decided to run wiring for my home office so that I could hardwire in… we also added boosters throughout our home which significantly helped. Boosters or range extenders plug into outlets and help bounce your signal to dead areas in your home. I felt like I was wasting time waiting on things to load, and now I’m able to work quickly and efficiently- without having to worry about the wifi. I just wanted to share that in case anyone else is having similar issues… there are definitely things you can do to help!

5 Things Every Home Office Needs - roomfortuesday.comI hope this post was helpful and gets your wheels turning in regards to functional home office design. Now that I have a well thought out workspace at home, I really appreciate these little things that make working easy and beautiful. Let me know if you’d like to see some of my “back to school” finds I’ve been grabbing for our home and my closet. I’d also be happy to roundup some supplies, dorm items, or helpful school things if you’re sending your kids or college students back to school this semester. Things have really come a long way since I was a student, so it’s always fun to search and see what’s new! Do you also enjoy the back to school season? I feel like it means fall is around the corner. Do you ever work from home? I’d love to hear things that make your home office or workspace more functional! Here’s to a good and productive week ahead. Happy back to school to all the teachers, students, and parents!

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8 Comments

  1. Good morning! A lifetime of “back to school” always makes this time of year feel more like a fresh start to me than January. (And I will never not love new office supplies!) As a person who’s not particularly productive from home, I’ve never created a proper office. When I remember those impromptu months of remote learning (🤯), I can say that every item on your list gave me fits. Absolute fits. I think accessible outlets, organization and excellent wifi are important for accomplishing even basic home tasks. I could certainly improve two of the three. As always, you’ve given me solutions to ponder in the tech department; I’ve been putting off addressing our wifi situation for months… Regardless, I definitely want to see all of your back to school goodies, Sarah! That’s half the fun. Ha. Here’s to a lovely, productive week indeed!💜

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    1. I should say good evening! I totally lost track of time today, so here I am at 11:00pm loving the comment section :) It’s the best part of my day. I love the “back to school” season! I agree that this time of year feels more like a fresh start than January. I still can’t imagine how difficult it would be to teach remote learning. Kudos to all the teachers out there doing that tough job… remote and in the classroom. Our internet has been my biggest pet peeve since moving into this house. We have two terrible options, but we slowly figured out how to improve the speed- and those wifi extenders really do work well. I don’t consider myself to be very tech savvy, but I thank my lucky stars our internet guy set those up for us. Haha! We’re in budget mode over here lately (thanks to our upcoming travel plans), but I managed to find some inexpensive “back to school” buys for my office and closet. I’ll gather them up :) Hope your Monday was a good one! xo

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  2. Back to school season has always been a favorite of mine. I update my own supplies and wardrobe while I’m updating the kids’ and it still holds the same excitement it did when I was in school. I envy your floor outlets the most. Since floating Jeff’s desk we’ve had issues with the computer cables and the dog- and almost had a broken monitor because of it. That’s one problem we’ll have to resolve when the built-in gets installed. I love the sleek design of your Wi-Fi extenders. Ours is an eyesore and an upgrade is definitely in the cards. I’d love to see your back to school finds! Our quote for the A/C isn’t written up yet- we should have it today or tomorrow. I’m nervous, but we received some great information from the gentleman that came out. Our weekend always relaxing- but sadly no samples or vintage finds. It’s definitely on my list of to-dos, but I couldn’t bear the heat. I hope your week is off to a great start. Xo

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    1. I love it, too! I feel like the back to school tradition is fun for everyone. I was just talking to Jordan today about it, and we both agreed that we love cleaning, purging, and refreshing this time of year… even more so than the spring season. I think it’s that back to school mentality. Cords and dogs do not mix, yikes… we found out the hard way. Crosby came crashing through my temporary office last year and took my iMac with him. A gash in his back and a cracked screen later, I cursed those wall outlets and cord jungle. Hah! Our wifi extenders came from our local Xfinity guy. For awhile, he was coming out once a month because we were having so many issues with the internet (worst part of our location is crappy internet), and I think he felt so bad- he just came us a couple for free. They actually don’t look too terrible! I’m happy you’re finally headed in the right direction with your A/C. I still can’t believe we all had issues with that this summer… some more expensive than others. I feel for everyone and am so thankful we’re able to get at least another year out of ours. We definitely weren’t budgeting for that. Hope you had a great Monday! xo

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  3. Mandy Garig says:

    Hi! What’s the trick for making your computer cord black once it aligns with your desk? Whatever you did there is brilliant.

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  4. Thank you for sharing these! I’m just getting my office set in a temporary design until I can have built-ins installed, and this is inspiring. I would love to see how you guys did the wiring for the internet. My husband is a software developer and tech junkie, and even with good internet here he would like to run networking cables upstairs to his office so he can hardwire in and have a server up there. He believes networking capabilities need to be more a part of house building from the start! For exactly the kind of situation you have and because so many people work from home now.

    Another question about the West Elm lamp: Can you tilt the light down far enough that it’s not shining in your eyes as you sit at the desk? Thanks for sharing beautiful, functional design!

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    1. Of course, Darcie! I wish I would have taken photos while running our internet line from the basement into my office. We just drilled a tiny hole to run the cable. I totally agree with your husband! I think tech and networking capabilities should be thought about when building or renovating… homes and workspaces would be more functional without the eye sore of cords running throughout. As for the West Elm lamp, yes- you can tilt and rotate the light really easily to find the right placement (so it’s not in your eyes). They’re really convenient! We love them. Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

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