Where Should I Put My Home Office? Don’t Ruin Your House Value

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Location, Location, Location. Those three words get bandied about so much when it comes to looking for a new place to live. What you might not know is that this is also great advice for deciding where exactly to put your home office, with a bad home office placement potentially having a huge impact on your focus and productivity. 

The best room to put a home office in would be in would be a loft conversion. Doing so will not reduce the number of bedrooms you will have in your house, and can potentially increase your property value by 20%. If you do not have a spare room, setting up a desk in the corner of your living space is also a great option. 

So why the loft? And how can you maximise the office space if you just don’t have the room? Keep reading to find out more… 

Now It’s worth mentioning that most of the people who read my blog are in the process of setting up their own home office. If this is the case with yourself you can find my recommended gear every office needs here. 

Where should I put my home office

 If you buy a house in a bad area, it could set you back a few years, from everything to neighbourhood safety to the schools your kids can get into. 

Believe it or not this is a great analogy to use when talking about setting up a home office. Let’s face it, working from home can be difficult and by putting your home office in the wrong space you’re just setting yourself up for failure. 

So where would be the best room to put a home office? Simply put the best place to put a home office would be in your loft. To help explain why I’ve put together a table which should help: 

Why you should put your home office in a loft	Benefit explained
Increased house value	So I don’t know about you but when I do sell my house I’d like to sell it for more than I bought it for. Unfortunately if you were to convert one of your bedrooms to a home office you might actually be harming your house value. BY setting up a loft which is usually not big enough for another bedroom you could earn upwards of 20% on your house value
It sets up a clear work/life space	Most of us do not spend a lot of time in our lofts, I mean usually we store things in there we have ,long since forgotten about. One of the major benefits of having a home office in a loft is that it is a spare room that none of us really use and sets a clear barrier between you and other distractions like the TV in your living room
Relatively easy up keep	Another huge benefit about a loft home office is that because the room is out the way and will very rarely double for other space it’s very easy to maintain and clean. Whilst your movie room needs to be cleaned every day you won’t need to do the same for your home office
More natural light	Another huge benefit of having a home office in a loft is the natural light. If your loft has a skylight/window it’s likely to be getting more light then any of your other rooms. Light is super important as it can add to your sense of well being, helping keep you focused throughout the day. ( you can see my lighting recommendations here.

What are the downsides of having a home office in a loft? 

Now whilst having a home office in a loft is definitely my first choice recommendation for almost everyone, I have to be honest and give you the other side,  a loft isn’t for everyone and there can be a few downsides including: 

• Not everyone can afford a loft conversion, these can be quite pricey and although worth it in the long term, not everyone has the finances to start off with. 
• They can feel a little bit claustrophobic especially if you don’t have too much room in there to move around in. 
• As it is out of the way you might find yourself just working from another room instead 
• It’s very easy as time goes on for your loft to be filled with more clutter, most people use these as storage space so you need to be vigilant that you’re not getting kicked out of your own office by clutter. 

What other rooms should you put your home office in? 

So as mentioned above, sadly, not everyone has the ability to convert their loft or let alone has a loft to house a home office. If this is you what other rooms should you consider for a home office? Luckily I’ve pulled together a 

Room	Benefit	Drawback
Living room/lounge	Most people have room in their lounge to set up a desk in a corner, you get a nice vibe working from a lounge which is often the largest room in your house. Easy to maneuver around in.	Very easy to get distracted with things like TV. Also it can be quite difficult if you live with other people, they will want to use that room at some point too.
Kitchen	Pretty good first thing in the morning especially if you have a kitchen island you can rest your stuff on, usually amongst the nicest looking rooms in your house so great for background images if your on a video call	Very easy to just eat continuously, no real separation from home and work life, you might find that it is amongst the roundest rooms especially if you are cooking. Also going to get quite messy if you use your home office for storage space
Bedroom	Bedrooms are usually out the way, spare bedrooms are usually on the larger side, meaning you will have ample room to design your home office exactly as you want to.	Converting a bedroom to a home office with heavy or permanent equipment could drastically reduce how much your home sells for in the future. If you’re planning on staying there long term then go ahead but definitely something you need to consider
Garden	Setting up a home office garden pod could be a great way to have a clear separation of home/work and is great for your wellbeing being out in nature and all. I’ve actually written a blog post about it here.	Creating a home office garden pod can be quite expensive. You can stick to working from a shed but you might find yourself getting cold and routing electricity and heat to it can be difficult. You might also need to go through planning permission if your garden pod is a certain size.
Bathroom	I can’t think of a single benefit of having a bathroom as a home office, erm, maybe you will stay clean? Potentially consider if you are a plumber?	Wet and damaged equipment, Bathrooms are usually amongst the smallest and coldest rooms in your house, avoid at all costs.

 

To help break this table down I’ve put together an infographic below: 

 

My recommendations then after everything above would be to put your home office in a spare living room if possible and then a smaller spare bedroom if needs be. 

Now it’s worth mentioning any room you decide to convert to a home office at some point will need furniture and equipment. You can check out my recommended gear for everything you need here. 

What is the worst room to put a home office in? 

Easily the worst room you could think about putting a home office in would be a bathroom. It just doesn’t make any sense. They are usually the smallest rooms, notorious for cold and damp and likely to damage your office equipment. 

Avoid at all costs. 

Which office room will increase the value of your home the most? 

Another question you might want to ask yourself when choosing what room to create a home office in is if it will increase the value of your home. 

The good news is that any home improvement is likely to increase the value of your home overtime then someone who just leaves a house as is. 

That being said  the two main stand out rooms that will increase your home value specifically when talking about offices will be loft conversions which typically have a 20% increase in value and a home garden pod which can increase your home value by about 15%

What if you don’t have a spare room for your office? 

Home offices can be tricky enough but sadly not all of us own our own properties, if you don’t have a spare office, the main thing I would consider is instead of setting up a whole room to yourself to set up a small workstation. 

Ideally this can be done in the corner of an existing room. 

One of the things I always consider is the 3 item rule, whereby your workspace only consists of the three items you need the most in your office, your must haves. 

This should eliminate a lot of the wastage and ensure you are maximising your space effectively. Consider things like a desk with drawers or a standing desk that can double as a kitchen island to really maximise your space. 

The next thing I would consider would be to try and blend your office space into your existing room. There is nothing worse than too much clutter so my looking to sites like Pinterest for inspiration on how to blend your living space with office space you will be set up in now time. 

Home office in a living room? 

Setting up a home office in a living room can be a great idea if you lack the space in other parts of your house. Ideally you would want to do this in a spare living room or lounge if you have one but in case you don’t have these it is best to follow these 5 steps: 

• Point your desk away from any distractions like TVs windows, ideally face a blank wall if possible 
• If you live with others let them know when you will be needing the space and when it is available 
• Maximise your space effectively by setting up your desk/office equipment in the corners of the room if possible 
• Invest in folding furniture if you take up a lot of room in your lounge
• Consider investing in sound proofing or barriers to keep your office space as segmented as possible.

One of the things you might want to consider if you don’t have the room is a standing desk or cabinet both of which can double up as storage space. 

How to fit a home office if you live in an apartment? 

So similarly to the point above about having a home office in a living room what about if you live in an apartment. I mean it has it’s own sets of issues and let’s face it, most apartments just don’t have the space to fit in loads of office equipment. 

So how do you fit in a home office if you live in an apartment? The following steps should help: 

• Use Pinterest for, it can be difficult to visualize your space without inspiration 
• Measure any available space you have to see how much room you are working with
• List your 3 must have items you need to do your job
• Invest in these items and ensure they fit into your space
• Blend your office into your apartment so it does not become an eyesoar.

Does a home office have to be in a second room? 

No, As discussed above if you don’t have the room for an entire home office space, simply figure out exactly what you need and blend the rest of the office in. 

What about garden home office rooms? 

As we mentioned earlier on, garden home office rooms can be a great way of not only getting back to good old mother nature, but also to clearly separate your work life balance. 

Garden home offices can increase your home office by as much as 15% if done correctly and they can also double up as safe spaces to just let you decompress. 

Now fair warning, most garden pods cost a fair bit of money, especially if you want them to be designed exactly for your role. On top of this garden pods can definitely eat into your garden space, so they might not be ideal if you don’t have a large garden at the moment. 

What happens if you don’t put your home office in the right room? 

Aside from putting your home office in a bathroom, there are no real right or wrong answers to putting your home office in the wrong room. Instead consider what it is you are creating your home office for, the tasks that will be completed in there and then as yourself if said room will be able to do what you want from it. 

The only disadvantages to not putting your home office in the right room would be the following: 

• Lack of productivity 
• Increased distraction
• Reduction in space needed for role
• Potential costs of moving your equipment to another room

That being said, most people will not consider investing in an entire home office if they did ot have a spare room handy. If this is you cinder investing in a smaller work space instead. 

Question to ask before deciding where you should put your home office

So before you even decide what room your home office is going to go in you need to ask yourself the following questions: 

• How much room do you need to achieve your goals?
• Which equipment is necessary and which is nice to have?
• Do you get distracted easily, or can you manage with background noise?
• Will you be able to leave your work in your home office or will you take it with you?
• Will you be free from any loud noises, do you need soundproofing?
• Will natural light help you or distract you? Do you need any windows?
• Is there enough space for the essentials ( chair, desk, storage furniture)
• What will the home office be used for on a daily basis? ( for example do you need a studio for your artwork or just a desk?

Now speaking of home offices one of the things people often forget is how much weight their home offices can hold. The good news is that I’ve written a post that talks all about it here.

What does every good home home need? 

Buying the right stuff for your home office can be super tricky. There are literally thousands of items out there with a lot of dodgy sellers. Part of the reason I started this blog was because of that very reason and so I’ve pulled together a resource page containing everything I feel a home office needs. You can access it here. 

Now that being said on a more motivational level you home office needs to do two things: 

1. Set up a clear boundary between your work life and home life
2. Help you achieve your task at hand. 

These are both super important and need considering at every stage when designing a home office. A video I came across that helped me was Thomas franks home office video, check it out below: 

Finally a lot of people reading my blog want to know what products I recommend for a home office/remote working. You can find out my recommendations here and learn how I make money whilst working remotely on the side here. 

Fehed.