By Lisa Kanarek
 | | Lisa Kanarek is one of the nation's leading home office experts and the author of several books including Home Office Solutions: Creating a Space That Works For You, and is the founder of HomeOfficeLife, a firm advising corporations and individuals on all aspects for working from home. |
Before you can design your home office, add home office furniture or redesign an existing space, it's important to pinpoint and understand how you work. There are four common working styles into which you may fit. Depending on the time of day and the activity, you may fit into one or all of these styles. Determine which one of the four styles describes you, and then learn how to design your office in a way that works with your working style, rather than against it.
Bouncing Ball
Are you the type of person who bounces from project to project, without completing a single one? If so, you could be a "Bouncing Ball." A Bouncing Ball wants to accomplish everything, yet has trouble doing one thing at a time. The Bouncing Ball's biggest problem is the inability to focus.
 | | Danforth work station |
To focus more clearly, set up your home office to include as few distractions as possible. If you have trouble focusing, the smallest distraction is going to pull you away from your task at hand and cause you to jump to the next one.
The best layout for a Bouncing Ball is an L-shape arrangement. It makes it easier to keep materials for projects within reach. Think of the area surrounding the desk as a "work circle." Everything needed on a daily basis should be within that circle. Keeping items used frequently nearby reduces the tendency and the need to leave a desk often and stray off track. For the Bouncing Ball, Hooker's Danforth work station would be a good furniture choice.
Nit Picker
The Nit Picker often confuses perfectionism with organization. While appearing organized on the surface, a Nit Picker's quest for perfection actually prevents him from accomplishing his work. There is nothing wrong with striving for perfection (or near perfection) unless the quest for perfection affects the quantity of the work produced.
 | | Dynasty home office collection |
The Nit Picker tends to like clean lines, minimal accessories and a streamlined look. There's a fine line, however, between streamlined and stark. Rather than fill a home office with simple, ordinary office furniture, look for patterns, texture and color. Hooker's Dynasty home office collection would be a good selection for the Nit Picker.
A chair upholstered in an interesting fabric will add dimension and personality to an otherwise bland office.
Instead of painting the walls white or beige, add a splash of blue, green or yellow to bring life to a home office. Artwork or framed photographs will give an office character and a bit of a personal touch. The accessories placed on the wall or on top of an office bookcase can reflect the owner's hobbies or interests.
The Lookout
The Lookout follows the out-of-sight, out-of-mind philosophy and fears putting anything away. Files stacked on the home office desk, office supplies on open shelves and reference books on the floor instead of behind cabinet doors are characteristic of a Lookout's office.
Open shelves, cabinets without doors and plenty of work surfaces to store files and supplies will keep a Lookout organized and more in control of the office. Fortunately, the Lookout doesn't have to sacrifice a personal work style in the name of design.
 | | Villa Florence collection |
The ideal desk for a Lookout is one with a minimal amount of drawers (even one will do) and one with a hutch. For the Lookout, the Villa Florence collection by Hooker would be an excellent choice.
A hutch leaves plenty of desktop space for handling projects, while leaving open space for storage. The U-shape set up works well for the Lookout, especially with the extra space it affords to hold items that would otherwise be stored in a cabinet.
The Lookout would benefit from two open bookcases with decorative containers on a few of the shelves to hold supplies. Not only do colorful containers give an office bookcase color and dimension, they're functional too.
The Saver
The Saver keeps things just in case or because they think they may need them someday. A home office stacked with out-of-date magazines, newspapers, and unopened mail is a clear sign that a Saver works nearby. Aside from the incessant clutter, which is not easy on the eyes, being a Saver can lead to professional disasters when it's impossible to find something under endless piles of paper.
 | | Woodland Creek computer cabinet |
The best home office furniture setup for controlling the tendency to keep anything and everything is one that makes it difficult to do so. How is this accomplished? Opt for a setup with a minimal amount of surfaces on which to put things. Nothing attracts clutter better than a clean, unused surface. The Woodland Creek computer cabinet is a good example.
Think about everyday activities and tasks. How much room do these tasks require? Aside from a place for a computer, printer and any other home office equipment, how much more space is necessary?
Drawers can pose another problem with Savers. The more drawers available, the more places to stash unnecessary items. A few drawers never hurt anyone, and they add to the functionality of a desk or computer workstation, but limit the number of drawers in a home office.
When you take the time to determine your working style, take steps to work with your style, rather than against it, you'll create a home office that works for you. You will accomplish more in less time, and you'll have an office you look forward to using regularly.
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