Home sweet work: thinking about a home office? Here are some things to consider.

• Author: Heineman, Linda L.
• Position: HOMEOFFICE

I must confess, I love my home office. Over the years I have continued to fine-tune how my office works so I can stay home as long as possible.

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There are some great benefits to a home office. First, it's economical--no rent, no landlord. And, living in a traffic-clogged city like Los Angeles, it's wonderful not having to face a daily commute. You can work whenever you want. That flexibility is another reason why having a home office is so attractive. Being able to stop long enough to have dinner with your family and not have to drive back to work is great. Working at home late at night is much nicer than being stuck in a lonely office building without air conditioning.

There are many benefits afforded by a home office, either as a primary office or a satellite office. You will need, however, to become your own office manager, IT and HR director, and Feng Shui consultant, so there are many things to consider and quite a bit of planning before you start moving furniture and set up your home office.

Which room or rooms will your office occupy; the size of the rooms; lighting; access; traffic patterns in your house; ventilation; furniture and equipment design and placement; and power sources are among the many issues to consider.

A little research prior to making the move might avoid a big headache later on. Some counties, municipalities and even neighborhood association have ordinances that affect the kind of businesses that can be operated out of a home.

For instance, the city of Rancho Cucamonga allows a professional to have a home office, however, employees not directly related to the office owner are prohibited from working there and clients cannot be met in the home office. Additionally, the office cannot be located in the garage.

MORE BANG FOR YOUR SPACE

My house was built in the 1930s and modern conveniences are not a part of the floor plan. The room I chose for my office has two doors leading to other rooms, a closet, two sets of French windows and a gravity heater vent. When I began my practice the room had a hodgepodge of office furniture--none of it particularly functional.

The challenge was to design a space so that all of the doors and windows could open and the heater vent would not be obstructed or be close to equipment. I had custom cabinetry built so the desktop is a continuous surface covering two-and-a-half walls. There's enough space for two workstations, shelving, a drawer space below the countertop...