How to Turn Your Garage into a Home Office
As modern technology advances, more and more people are looking to work from their home and cut the commute expenses as well as the accompanying inconveniences. However, turning your garage into a high-end home office isn’t an easy task. In fact, you’ll have to put a lot of effort into this project if you want to achieve the best results. Luckily, most garages are used as storage space and are easy to convert into a space in which you can spend your work hours.
Be creative
In order to redesign your garage into an office space, you’ll have to include some creativity. The easiest and most impactful thing that makes a room comfortable and aesthetically pleasing is the lighting. More often than not people simply don’t include a great deal of lighting in their garage as it usually isn’t needed. However, if you’re planning on spending a good portion of your day in a particular room, you should definitely consider changing the lights. LED strips are easy to install and, as such, pose an ideal solution for people who want to save energy with LED lights.
A fresh paint job is also somewhat mandatory. However, instead of painting the whole room white, you should include a couple of vivid colors that will make the office a pleasant space to be in. Therefore, instead of leaving the walls as they are, paint every surface of your garage with vivid colors and you’ll feel much more comfortable.
Think about comfort
Many people make a common mistake of not including enough furniture in their business space. One has to think about themselves, employees, and potential clients that may visit your place. In other words, make sure you include enough furniture to allow people to feel as comfortable as possible while being there.
On top of that, make sure you insulate the exterior walls and mount drywalls if you have any exposed studs. The insulation reduces the impact of external noise, and it also ensures consistent temperatures within the room. It’s of utmost importance that you eliminate temperature loss because it will otherwise have a massive impact on your bills and thus overall budget. The whole idea behind this is to make your office more inviting to clients.
Be original
You have the liberty to do anything you want when it comes to originality because you’re building an office from scratch. While it’s a matter of personal preferences and taste, it’s recommended that you don’t go with all the cliché things like tedious shelves, sterile walls, and the usual décor. Instead, one should include some originality in the form of art, paintings, pillows, and even rugs. Why wouldn’t you hang one of Andy Warhol’s paintings, even though they don’t seem like an optimal piece in your office? It’s all about being original and different because that’s one of the factors that will increase the trust of your clients.
Include modern gadgets
This particular step is usually an expensive one. If you’re on a limited budget, you may skip this, but it’s strongly recommended that you at least include some affordable and cool gadgets.
On the other hand, if you’re not too worried about your budget, make sure you subscribe to a good Internet provider. That’s the first step on this technical journey and it’s also the most important one. Also, make sure you get a dedicated router for your office instead of sharing the connection with your home network. The advantage of having a separate connection is obvious – you don’t have to worry about limitations caused by one router being simultaneously used by numerous parties.
The issues with poor cable management are often overseen, but that doesn’t mean they are non-existent. The main idea here is to hide as many wires as possible and keep them out of sight. That way, you can keep the office space nice and neat.
Don’t forget to check for approval
It’s mandatory that you check with your local council to see whether you need any building permits. Many people have made a mistake of not consulting the authorities, and needless to say, it usually ends up badly for them. In order to avoid unpleasant scenarios and, more importantly, spending money in vain, one should always check for legal terms and conditions before starting a project this big.
