Working from home is a new normal since 2020, while it doesn’t appear recently as many think, 4.7 million people working from home in the US before the pandemic according to the statistics. And the number of regular telecommuting employees has increased by over 100% since 2005. Some people are allowed by their companies to work remotely, while some people work from home because they are self-employed. For companies, telecommuting means fewer resources used for the office, less money spent on renting or buying an office, and the ability to hire talented people who live far away from the office. For employees, saving commute time and achieving a balance between work and life are 2 main benefits.
The shift of work models is very possible to continue, according to the recent employer survey, companies think 40% of employees would work remotely in the future. Facebook, Walmart and other big companies even make specific plans for letting their employees work from home in several years. However, remote work does have its disadvantages, such as the productivity issue, group collaboration, and negative impacts on employees’ mental & physical health. Thus the future of telecommuting must be full of opportunities and challenges, which both companies and employees need to adapt to this new normal faster and better.
Building a convenient and comfortable home office is the first step of remote work. This article aims to bring you some ideas on choosing the right home office furniture, also will recommend our best home office chairs & desks for you.
What is Small Office / Home Office?
Small office / Home office is usually referred to as small-sized businesses, which means this kind of company has 1-10 employees. Small offices/Home offices are always home-based, which is where ‘home office’ comes from. Small offices are mainly based in 3 industries: 1. Information, 2.Construction, 3.Professional, scientific, and technical services. However, when people mention ‘home office’ this year, they mean the working space in their home. It could be in the dining room, at the coffee table, or anywhere that can hold a simple desk and chair.
The Benefits of Working From Home
Less Commute: Saving commute time may be the biggest benefit for employees, because they don’t need to bear the long and boring commute. According to the survey, the average commute time of Americans is 27 minutes, and more than 4 million people spent 90 minutes or more on the road in 2018. Spending more commute time means you lose more leisure time for you and your family. Moreover, research shows the long commute is negative for people’s mental and physical health.
If there is less commute, people can use the saved time to do more meaningful things, such as doing preparation for their work, having a workout or enjoying a healthy home-made breakfast.
Comfortable Work Environment: Making your work place comfortable is the second advantage. You can wear casual house clothes and slippers instead of formal suits, sit on the soft accent chair rather than the hard office chair. When you want to listen to music, you can do it without interrupting others. During the break, you can stand up and walk around, have a short nap or eat some snacks. In your own home office, you have the freedom to design the work environment the way you like. Your choice of computer, monitor and other equipment can follow your heart.
Work-Life Balance: Many jobs come with flexible schedules, which allows you to arrange your time freely, as long as your work is completed well. For most of us, it’s annoying to ask for leave for personal affairs, such as medical appointments, school activities and fitness classes. If you work from home, it’s easier to balance personal life and work, although you need strong self-control to get your work done in the planned time.
Cost-Saving: As for companies, allowing their employees to work remotely is beneficial to them economically, because it helps to save money on renting an office, overhead and other expenses. About 6 out of 10 companies think cost saving is the major benefit of adapting the telecommuting work model.
Location Independence: For companies, hiring people from different places without location restrictions would increase the diversity of employees, and find more outstanding employees they want. For employees, if remote work becomes normal, they can have access to a wider range of job opportunities without geographical restrictions. It could be very helpful to those living in small cities and rural areas. The benefit includes saving money on high renting and better taking care of the family.
It’s believed that the pandemic accelerates the shift to telecommuting. As companies constantly learn from this practice and use techniques to help their employees stay as productive as working in the office, the future of remote work must be full of opportunities.
What to Consider When Buying Home Office Furniture?
Some people may simply work on their beds or at their dining tables rather than particularly buying office furniture. But, you may feel less concentrated and uncomfortable when lacking a professional workstation, which is unsustainable for long-term remote work. Using the right home office furniture not only creates a practical working area but makes you comfortable during working.
The size of your home office: The selection of home office furniture is largely depended on the space that’s available to you. If you transform an unused room to a home office, you will have more choice on types and numbers of furniture. The spare bedroom, basement room and garage are good options to create a spacious and comfortable home office. However, some people may prefer to use existing furniture as their workspace, such as the dining table or the console table. In this situation, you need to make the most of the available space and measure the space in detail.
The function you need: Different people have different requirements to the function of home office furniture. When considering buying a desk, if you have storage needs, you may choose one with open shelves or drawers. If you are working in front of a computer, you may consider a desk with adjustable heights to meet your changing needs. As for the chair, it’s important to choose the one that provides you strong support and enables you to sit comfortably. The ergonomic chair may be the best choice for most people, as it comes with powerful functions, including armrests, adjustable height and etc.
The style you like: After deciding on the amount and function of home office furniture you need, selecting the pieces that match your style is a key step. If you use a spare room to be your workspace, you can make the room in your own style. But if you use partitioned ares of the living room or bedroom, you may choose a chair or desk that could easily blend with the rest furniture of the room.
Your budget: The cost of building up a home office is depended on your needs, goals and budget, but it’s not necessary to spend a lot on it. To set up a cost-effective home office, you basically need a spacious desk and a comfortable chair. While if you want an eye-catching workspace that could showcase your personal style, it’s deserving to invest in the storage, decor and even intelligent equipment, which boosts your productivity and creates a customized working environment.
How to Choose A Perfect Home Office Chair ?
A chair is essential to every home office, which influences your working states and decides how long you can work on it. A comfortable chair is the one that you want to sit in and won’t make you feel tired after 8 working hours or more. To choose the best office chair, there are some factors that need to be considered.
Function
1. Adjustable height: many people love this feature, because an office chair with this function could meet their personal needs. Eyes should be able to look straight ahead at the computer while seated in the office chair. More, if you want to use the existing desk/table in your home, like the dining table or console table, it’s necessary to buy an adjustable work chair to help you stay in the height matched with your table.
2. Lumbar support: Sitting at the desk long time without enough back support could cause back pain, so it’s worth buying an office chair with lumbar support or buying an extra lumbar support pillow.
3. Ergonomic design: Many office chairs today feature the ergonomic design, which fits the natural curve of the human body, so that you can maintain a healthy and comfortable sitting posture. Experts noted that it’s better for your back when sitting at 135 degrees than sitting straightly. So if you consider an accent chair or dining chair, you may need to think about other measures to protect your back.
4. Rolling casters: The chair with rolling casters comes with great flexibility, which is ideal for people owning an L-shape desk or having several screens to use.
Size
Measure the width, depth and height of the space you will place the home office chair, so you know approximately what size can fit there. Do not forget to leave some room for walking around. Seat height is one of the most important dimensions you should pay much attention to. There are 2 principles to calculate the ideal seat height:
1. When you sit down, your feet should firmly touch the floor;
2. When you sit in front of the desk, your forearms are at the same height and parallel to the desk, with your elbows ensuring an open 90 - 110 degrees open angle.
Besides, the backrest should be tall enough to hold your back and the seat should be big enough for sitting comfortably.
Types of Home Office Chair
Ergonomic office chairs: The ergonomic office chair is specially designed for people working at the desk everyday. It has powerful functions, including the adjustable height, tilt, lumbar support and rolling wheels, which provide you comfort and excellent back support. However, most ergonomic mesh chairs are lack design and color options, which may not easy to blend with your home decor.
Accent chairs: If you don’t want to break the whole decoration of your home, an upholstered accent chair deserves a try. A beautiful accent chair would make your home office full of warmth and charm. Also sitting in a chair with well-stuffed padding and soft upholstery will provide you ultimate comfort.
Drafting chairs: If you need to sit down higher than most office chairs can serve, considering a drafting chair would be a good choice. It has the basic functions as most office chairs, what’s more, it can be adjusted to a much higher level and comes with flip-up arms, which is perfect for architects, designers, etc.
Executive chairs, also called boss chair, are famous for the high back and premium materials. If you think highly of the quality and appearance, it’s worth considering this type of chair. It offers you firm and reliable support for the whole body, ideal for people who work long hours.
Gaming chairs: If you are obsessed with the cool look of the gaming chair, it is worth buying a gaming chair to be your home office chair. Apart from the design, most gaming chairs have bigger seats and higher backrest than normal office chairs, which is more suitable for large-sized people. It also has a headrest, lumbar support pillow, armrests and even footrest that is comfortable for a hard-working day.
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#1 Swivel Ergonomic Chair
This swivel ergonomic chair comes with durable faux leather finish and is filled with high-density foam for a comfortable and luxurious feeling. Featuring durable metal frame, 360-degree swivel mobility, adjustable seat height with top quality materials, this chair is fully equipped to be your office partner during long working hours.
#2 Low Back Armless Chair
This armless drafting chair is constructed of premium PU leather, high elastic foam, SGS certified gas lift and strong chrome finish base, durable plastic frame and base. The seat height can be adjusted from 16.3 inches to 22.2 inches. 360° swivel casters and seat help fetch things and multi-tasking more easily. The armless design allows this chair to be slid under your computer desk without any difficulty.
#3 Fabric Accent Chair
Inspired by traditional decor, this modern accent chair combines clean lines with a curved back. The soft fabric finish contrasts with the tapered metal legs, creating a simple but inviting tone to your home office. The padded cushioned seat, back and armrest provide you utmost comfort and body support. The pleated pattern on the fabric backrest adds subtle elegant details.
#4 Adjustable High Back Office Chair
The S-shaped mesh back provides exclusive comfort with lumbar support, breathable mesh leaves an elastic bouncy feeling of backrest; A perfect combination of mesh and artificial leather optimize our customers’ sitting experience with thoughtful design. If you are expecting a little extra fun, the adjustable center-tilt tension meets right at your needs, please enjoy rocking back and forth during your intensive office hours, this mesh office chair is developed for your best comfort!
#5 High-Back Gaming Chair
This multifunctional gaming chair can be a highly cost-effective choice. High density sponge covered with PU leather makes the surface easy-to-clean and deformation resistant. Ergonomic backrest and lumbar support provide a comfortable sitting experience. Sturdy metal frame and nylon silent castors allow steady and smooth mobility. Adjustable seat height, back angle and center-tilt tension let users customize their best sitting position. You can enjoy durability and comfort at the same time with this chair.
How to Choose A Perfect Home Office Desk?
A right home office desk is indispensable for a productive working day, while the wrong one can ruin your day. Some people work at the coffee table or dining table when they first work remotely, but finally find it’s inefficient and unsustainable for long hours working. The following part will introduce some important points in choosing the perfect home office desk.
Space:
It will be easier to choose the styles and types of the desk if you know how much space you have. There are some questions you should ask yourself when considering the measurements.
1. Measure the doorway and stairwell to make sure you can carry your desk into the room successfully. If it is limited on the way from outside to the designed space, you may consider a compact sized desk or a ready-to-assemble desk.
2. Measure the size of your home office to decide the overall size of the desk. Please leave at least 3.5’ of space behind the desk to slid a chair easily and sit down comfortably. Place the desk where the door can be fully opened.
3. The electrical outlets should be easy and convenient to reach.
4. The desktop should be big enough to hold the computer, working materials and other necessaries.
5. Leave enough clearance for your legs’ movement, and a desk in 29-30 height is high enough for most people.
Types:
Computer desks are a kind of executive desks which especially suits people working with a computer. It’s large enough for most complicated projects and comes with a rectangular surface. Besides, computer desks are often equipped with several drawers, cabinets and shelves for plenty of storage space. Perfect option of home office desk which is suitable for most users. 
Writing desks are always simple and modern in design, which comes with a large and clean rectangular surface, four legs and open underneath compartment. Sometimes there are small drawers on the side and extra hutches. It is designed for those who don’t need a lot of files, papers and other items that are very close to them. Writing desks are available in multiple finishes and styles, which is ideal for people who prefer a simple but specialized workstation.
Mobile computer desks: If you want to work anywhere in your home, you may choose the mobile computer desk. These desks often feature adjustable height and wheels, which allows you to work in any places you like without restrictions. The biggest drawback is that it comes with a compact sized tabletop, which may only hold a laptop or a notebook.
L-shape or corner desks are suitable for people who own larger work space. If you plan to transform a spare room to your home office, an L-shaped desk is worth a try. It allows you to change between different tasks or screens easily. Some corner desks are designed in a triangle shape for making most of the corner area.
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#1 Computer Desk with Storage
This is a cost-effective office table with solid construction and powerful functions. It is constructed of P2 compliant MDF, scratch-resistant and water-proof veneer, and heavy-duty metal hardware, providing you with safe and long-term use. It comes with 2 levered tabletops, 1 drawer and 2 open shelves for multiple uses, which helps to create a well-ordered space for working.
#2 Modern Writing Desk
This versatile computer desk is designed with a stylish look and spacious storage. An all-in-one solution to your home and office workstation purposes. You can make the most of the storage space it offers, i.e. one removable hutch, one-layer top shelf and four drawers. Selected materials of MDF and solid pine wood. Sturdy and safe for long-time use. An understated home/office desktop table fit for all.
#3 2-Tier Computer Desk
This small laptop table comes with a clear tabletop, smooth drawer and substantial shelves in the middle and at the bottom. It has 4 rolling casters, each with a large diameter of 2 inches for much loading stability. The 2 front casters also have locks so that the table could stand still when in place.
#4 L-shaped Corner Desk
Take a look at this simple style L-shaped corner table. It provides you with 2 rectangular and 1 fan-shaped tabletop area for your PCs/monitors/CPUs. Sitting at both sides of the table, you can easily move from one task to the other and access to all the items on the tabletop. The mix of wood-grain finish and matte black legs brings this piece a sleek rustic vibe.
#5 Corner Computer Desk
This sturdy corner computer desk features large desktop and stylish corner design. Place it in the unused corner of your home, which saves much space and brightens the whole space. It comes with spacious working space, 2 shelves and a large drawer, offering ample space for your stuff. Modern style makes it easy to match with most home decors.
Conclusion
Hope the content above is helpful to you. After having the right home office furniture, it’s also important to learn some cleaning and caring tips. For wood or wooden tables, you should keep them away from humid areas and direct sunlight. Dust or wipe spills with a dry, soft cloth. As for normal office chairs, it’s important to vacuum the dust, hair and other scraps regularly. If you have any further questions, welcome to contact us via info@costoffs.com.