Can’t bear to go back to the office after the holidays?
Home offices are all the rage - transform a room easily by using our guide

Compost heaps, a tool shed, a vegetable patch, and if you’re over-imaginative, fairies, used to be the only things found at the bottom of most people's gardens.

Nowadays, you are much more likely to find a home office. A sanctuary where you can sort out your life, deal with household paperwork or even run a mini business empire.

Working among the foliage also has the cachet of being a celebrity choice - DIY queen Linda Barker, gardening guru Diarmuid Gavin, BBC journalist Andrew Marr and property expert Kirsty Allsop have all joined the garden office set.

But, even if toiling while looking out at the great outdoors isn’t an option, working from home, even occasionally, using a simple desk in a corner of the lounge or a converted bedroom is now common.

The popularity of home working has increased due to a combination of factors: Transport costs, the increasing stress of commuting as well as people’s environmental concerns about burning up fuel travelling to work.

It may be an increasingly popular choice but you do need to ensure that your office suits your needs, is practical and attractive enough to lure you to work in it, even if you are still wearing your pyjamas.

Do your homework using this guide so that your office is a winning space.

Reasons to Work from Home

If every business motorist worked from home once a week, it would reduce total C02 emissions by 1% and take 1.7 million cars off the road.

A six month study has shown that by working at home two days a week, 87% of participants in the study found an increase in the productivity, accuracy and quality of their work (according to the South East Development Agency).

Avoiding distracting office gossip and politics and the general irritations of noisy colleagues
and telephones were all reasons given for working at home according to recent research.

Estate agents say a well-built garden office can add as much as 5% to the value of a house.

Setting up your Home Office

Always set up a permanent space designated to be the office even if it is only part of a room.

Consider elements taken for granted in a normal office. Power - are there enough sockets for all your peripherals and are they close enough to the desk? Cables across the floor can be treacherous. Consider a cable tidy or going wireless. Lighting - a lounge lamp will not cast an effective light. Ventilation - computers generate heat so ensure there is adequate ventilation to keep a cool atmosphere.

If your desk doesn't allow a view out of a window, position artwork or photos to look at during down or thinking time.

Technology has made it much easier to create a desk in any corner of almost any room. A sleek laptop and an all-in-one printer/scanner/fax can make the office blend into the room. Match the desk and accessories to the rest of the room and be surprised at how neat the space can be.

Storage

Plan carefully to ensure the best use of space. The more storage allocated the less paper and work that will be visible. Book shelves and filing cabinets are essential for organisation but can also be blended into the overall décor of the room when combined with accessories. A small number of well chosen larger items can be amalgamated with less expensive items to good effect. Even a plain Perspex tray can make a pile of papers look orderly.

Actually working in your Home Office

Working successfully at home requires self-motivation, self-discipline and time management. If you are easily distracted during the day by housework or the television then you will end up working into the evening. If you don’t mind blurring home life and work life then this is fine but you may begin to resent the situation if this happens often. Some set working hours to stick to, some get dressed for the office.
With nothing but your pc and the radio during the day some complain of feelings of isolation. Join business groups and go out for meetings for a diversion and to meet other like-minded people.

It may be difficult to mentally remove yourself from work at the end of the day. If you are satisfied with your days work then work can be more easily forgotten. Focus on tasks that you have accomplished more than what is outstanding. Some advice is to close the door on your office or turn off your computer to make a physical break from work. Others advocate showering and changing clothes at the end of the day.

Try combining part time work at home with office work to find the right balance for you. You won’t look back.