If you don't have a dedicated home office, you may find yourself wishing for a picture-perfect space to complete your daily tasks. Consider your garage as a blank template where you can design an ideal home office that's both cozy and functional. Before you begin this project, read through these five tips about converting this space.
1. Fully Clean and Insulate the Space
Garages are notoriously cluttered and dirty. By changing how you think of your garage and reworking it to be a functional space, you can turn it into a high-quality home office. Treat it like any other area of your home and sweep the floors, clean the windows, and insulate the walls and door areas to keep extreme weather conditions outside.
2. Add Windows or Install Daylight-Spectrum Lights
Working without windows can lead to mental health issues, especially for people who struggle with low mood or seasonal affective disorder during the wintertime. Get in touch with a contractor to add a window or two to your garage space or talk to a real estate pro like Raymond Maestas about purchasing a new home and expanding or converting the garage into a legitimate room of your home. If this is impossible due to your budget or local California laws, purchase a few daylight spectrum lights or lamps to bring sunlight into your office.
3. Section Off or Clear Out the Office Area
If your garage has a separate nook that can be used as a home office, that's great! You can decorate the space differently than the rest of the garage and purchase a room divider to visually separate the two spaces into distinct rooms. If there's no room for both your car and your desk, you may have to compromise by keeping your car outside. If you're concerned about the weather affecting your vehicle, consider buying a car cover to protect it. Investigate which type of cover is best for your climate and look into bonus features such as door zippers, reflective strips, and extra weatherproofing.
4. Purchase an Ergonomic Desk and Chair
Don't neglect your physical health when organizing your home office. According to the Mayo Clinic, you should choose a desk and chair that are ergonomically designed to protect the health of your spine and position your computer screen at least an arm's length from your eyes to prevent eye strain. Resist the urge to work on a laptop for extended periods of time as this can lead to poor posture as well as muscle strain.
5. Eradicate the Pests
Your garage can be a home to small pests such as spiders and mice and a haven for larger animals such as raccoons and stray cats in colder weather. Even if these animals don't bother you, you should be aware that they can carry diseases such as rabies and hantavirus, chew up your paperwork, and leave nasty droppings that are difficult to clean up. Eradicating these pests may be as simple as sealing the cracks in your garage door, or consider calling a local pest control company to solve the problem more permanently.
Garages can be great storage areas, and they can also provide space for a functional home office. Follow these tips to keep your workstation clean, pest-free, and well-lit so that it feels cozy and comfortable as well as easy to work
Comentarios