Having a home office with the right furniture is a major component of ensuring your continued productivity ? regardless of whether or not the pieces you decide to use are new, or they're things that are just plain comfortable! What matters is that the furniture you choose is functional, usable, and safe for the environment.

Choosing a Desk

Your desk is where you'll be spending most of your time, so this needs to be large enough to accommodate your computer, keyboard, space for papers and actually doing paperwork, a telephone, and extra spots for things like mail, pens, business cards, and so forth. Needless to say, the larger you can go with a desk is typically better ? but in a home office, you can often be working within a confined space. Try to pick a desk with drawers ? it helps to minimize the inevitable clutter.

Choosing a Chair

This is one area you can't compromise on. You'll be sitting in your chair for 8 hours ? or maybe more ? each day, and the last thing you need is something hard on your back or rear. Stress on the spine, day in and day out, can cause serious health problems. A chair should have a slight contour to follow the curve of your back, and should have enough padding on the bottom to remain comfortable for several hours. That said, you also need some wiggle room ? don't get a chair that's too snug.

Choosing Storage Space

Storage space is where everything else goes when you're not working on it! This includes things like filing cabinets and bookshelves ? both of which are very important elements of home office furniture. Without these pieces, you'll find that papers and projects pile up in various places in the room in random order ? inevitably leading toward the loss of some key paper or telephone number at a crucial moment. Do yourself a favor and invest in some solid, lockable filing cabinets and sturdy bookshelves. You'll thank yourself for it later.