Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, more of us than ever before have adapted our lives to working from home. Gone are the days when the kitchen table or the living room coffee table made the ideal place to catch up on some work. The new normal is all about dedicated home office spaces that make both inspiring and relaxing places to work from home.
If you’re about to put your home on the market for the first time, you might be wondering if a dedicated home office space will add value to your property and if it will help you entice buyers for a quick sale?
Last year, an article published on This is Money has confirmed that home offices are now a key selling point for buyers. The article goes on to quote a recent study by the Home Builders Federation, stating that nearly a fifth of homeowners in the UK are now considering changing the style of their home, often to accommodate for a new home office space.
This is great news for sellers looking to create flexible, multifunctional living spaces and make their homes more appealing to prospective buyers. With this in mind, to help you create the ideal home office space, we’ve compiled a selection of top tips to ensure you make all the right decisions.
Choosing the perfect space for your home office
Your choices are almost endless when it comes to selecting a space to set up your home office. If you’ve got bags of rooms to choose from, select one that’s quiet, such as a separate dining room or a third bedroom tucked away upstairs.
Awkward and unused spaces are ideal for home offices. A small corner of a larger room or even that awkward space under the stairs can be converted into a flexible work station to plug in a laptop, making it very appealing to prospective buyers.
With the way we make use of our homes changing, garage, loft, and shed conversions are also an ideal way to repurpose a space that may otherwise become a dumping ground.
Wherever you choose to create a home office, remember that it needs to be a comfortable environment to work in, any time, day or night! Therefore a dedicated, preferably private space is preferred and also one that is adequately lit and heated too. You will also want to ensure that your new home office will not be subjected to distractions. A space away from the household hubbub should be the main goal and one that boasts a peaceful and calming atmosphere.
Don’t forget to maximise bedroom space
Although converting that spare room into an office might be the best and easiest option, don’t allow yourself to lose valuable bedroom space in the process.
Remind prospective buyers that your home does offer that extra bedroom, if it’s not a home office they are after, by creating a multifunctional room with a study that doubles up as a bedroom. The idea is to create a home office that allows for flexibility to suit both you and your extended family, now and in the future. Allowing space for either a double or a single bed will put any doubts on space to rest!
Furnishing your home office
When it comes to furnishing your home office, staging it, just as you would any other room in your house, it is key for maximising the space’s potential to buyers. A home office should feel welcoming and organised with suitable blinds or curtains and ample lighting for those looking to burn the midnight oil.
Arrange furniture so that your home office appears both spacious and practical. This is particularly crucial if you are going down the route of a multifunctional office space, combined with either a bedroom or possibly a dining room. Furniture should help you hide any background clutter such as work files and printers but should also be positioned to allow in plenty of natural light.
Easily carve out a corner of a room for a dedicated home office space with a portable screen, making it instantly private and quieter too.
Set up a computer and other office essentials that will help buyers envisage it as the workspace.
Design clever storage areas in your home office that help hide clutter and enable a room to double up as either a spare bedroom or additional wardrobe space.
Get your home office connected
Ensuring that your newly created home office is suitable for working in is key when presenting it to buyers.
Practicality is essential, particularly if your home office is located on the first floor or in a converted garage or shed. A phone line or cordless phone should be installed, and a remote doorbell or intercom system is ideal if the front door is out of earshot.
With many households now seeing more than one person working from home regularly and the added possibility of homeschooling, a good internet connection is vital! Ensure your property boasts desirable internet speeds that will mean you’re never disconnected from any important zoom meeting again, and remember to shout about it when it comes to promoting your property. You should also test your internet connection throughout your property and garden (if you’re creating a shed home office). Router extenders are easily affordable and will allow you to prove to potential buyers that internet connectivity is not something they will need to worry about.
Ultimately, you can’t go wrong when maximising your property’s potential with a new home office. More UK professionals than ever before are working from home, and with the benefits of a better work-life balance, the trend is set to continue.
Not only will a carefully designed home office space make your home stand out amongst the crowd, but it also will leave prospective buyers feeling inspired about the possibilities of working from home in a dedicated space.
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