Creating Your Dream Home Office Perfect for Meetings and Work

Guest post by Virginia Cooper of learnaliving.co

When you work from home, you might spend a great deal of time in your office. In fact, the average business owner works around 49.4 hours per week, while some work over 50 hours per week. Therefore, it’s vital to create a workspace you love and that works for client or customer meetings.

Make It a Safe Space

Especially with the pandemic raging on, you and your clients or customers need a safe space for meetings. After each interaction, make sure you wipe down any surfaces either of you touched with a disinfectant wipe.

Before meetings, there are a few things you can do to make your space safer:

• Ventilate the room. Open a window, when possible. A properly ventilated room helps remove germs from the room.
• Add ultraviolet lights. Consider adding ultraviolet lighting into your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. UV light helps eliminate pathogens in the air.

Implement Contact-Free Services

You can keep you, your family, and clients or customers safe through contactless interactions. Instead of meeting to exchange cash, use a service such as PayPal or Venmo for payment. These platforms allow you to receive payments and transfer them to your bank account online. Use video chatting software instead of in-person meetings. Steady Radiance Design can help you set up video chatting through your website or through an online service.

Create a Functional Space

Ideally, you want to use an extra room in your home as your office. If possible, make it a space that’s close to an entryway. By doing so, clients or customers won’t have to walk through much of your house. This can help ensure privacy and reduce the spread of germs throughout your home.

As you set up your home office, make it client-friendly:

• Have seating options. Have a chair or two dedicated for visitors to sit rather than pulling chairs from other parts of your home for each meeting.
• Organize your office. An organized office makes you look professional as a business owner. Use filing cabinets and shelves to organize and display items neatly This is an essential step for video calls as well, specifically in the area that will be in view of your camera.
• Consider setting up a printing area. Having an area dedicated to printing means that you’ll have easy access to any documents you end up printing out.

Consider Reupholstering Furniture

If you have a damaged couch or chair you want in your office, have it reupholstered. You can find companies online. Be sure to read reviews on Angi as you compare your options. Keep in mind that a large couch could cost you $1,200 to $3,500, but besides size, your chosen fabric’s type and design impact the price as well.

Decorating and Staging

Don’t forget to create a space that works for you. Don’t hesitate to decorate your home office to maintain the overall feel of your home. Additionally, stage the space to make it suitable for client or customer meetings. Have adequate lighting to ensure your client or customer can read documents easily. On the other hand, if you’re holding meetings over the computer, use soft lighting and place it in front of you.

Setting the Ambiance and Creating a Safe Meeting Space Are Essential

By properly staging and decorating your home office, you can make it a place where everyone is safe and comfortable, and the space is functional.

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