New Options in Home Office Furniture

You may have started your own business, at least in part, to escape the cubicle jungle. But home-based business owners tend to learn quickly that there really is something to the notion of a dedicated workspace.
A well-laid-out, efficient work environment pays off whether you're running a startup from your living room or are part of the mobile work force. Why? You spend so much time working in this space that enormous efficiency gains can lay in how it's organized. An optimal environment reduces eye and arm fatigue, improves concentration and can help extend the work day.
To speed the return on your investment in home-office furnishings -- and to keep you from aimlessly cruising the aisles at Staples or OfficeMax -- we spent the past few weeks exploring some of the hidden corners of the higher-end home-office furniture market. Here are our picks for the right mix for functionality, character and efficiency for your home workspace.

Note: Many of these items are available only through interior designers, either those accredited by an organization like the International Interior Design Association or decorators with large enough practices to have the clout to deal directly with high-end furniture vendors. So pricing can vary heavily depending on which sales channel you use. Be prepared to negotiate. The International Interior Design Association offers a convenient database of interior design resources that can help you find a solution closest to you.
USM Display from USM Modular Furniture
(contact company for a price quote)
If you don't have a spare room to devote to your business, you might be able to surrender half of a room, or at least a quarter. In that case, an office partition is the best way to draw a line between your personal and professional lives.
The USM Display from USM Modular Furniture is a modern-looking partition system that's also portable. This amounts to a movable yet solid wall that can be rolled away at the end of the day or into whatever configuration suits your purposes. It has some additional conveniences as well, including customizable surfaces such as a magnetic white board that can be used for any number of brainstorms and notes, as well as several attachable shelves. In small offices the white board can also double as a presentation surface for meetings.
Either way, USM can make the divide-and-conquer strategy for the home office a whole lot more winnable.
M2 Collection by Bulo
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The desk is the centerpiece of any home office, but that doesn't mean it should take up the entire room. Belgian furniture maker Bulo has a deep line of compact desks in its M2 collection, so named for its one-square-meter shape. The desk, which comes in multiple colors, features a worktable which is attached to and extends sideways from a simple storage unit. It's big enough for a desktop, but also can be used as a multipurpose work area. Note: If the desk feels cramped it's for a reason. Research shows that a small desk forces workers to keep it clutter free. Which helps keep your office clutter free.
The M2 line also comes with some well-made complementary shelving options as well as filing cabinets, and the set as a whole looks and feels professional. The desk also comes with an ergonomic footrest.
If you have a small office, keeping the desk small can pay off.
Lofty TV Quilt
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Your business can accumulate stuff just like you do, which means you never have enough storage. If style is important, one quirky but cool-looking solution is the TV Quilt, a giant wall-storage unit. It's got a patchwork look, but the various cabinets fit together like a puzzle, which is where the name comes from. The TV Quilt is a good way to store lots of stuff in style, especially if you're working out of a small space. Note that the unit does not touch the floor, which keeps tiny rooms roomy. We liked the variety of compartments that can be used to store a printer, or books, or file drawers, you name it. The insides of the shelves are also color-coded for organization: Work stuff might go in the blue one. Personal stuff in the white. We found this darn useful in keeping the office and the home from bleeding together.
Philips Home Office Lighting
(Contact company for local distributors and prices.)
Just because you've carved out your perfect idea cave, doesn't mean it should be lit like one. Effective lighting for your business lair is a must for keeping your eyes fresh and your mind alert. Under the Lightolier brand, Philips makes a full range of LED home-office lighting offerings -- ranging from task lights to overhead lamps -- that should meet whatever your illumination needs might be. In our experience, it's best to avoid direct, down-facing lights, which can tire your eyes and create energy-sucking computer glare.
Lightolier's Halley task lights have a unique rotating head that can be moved in just about any direction, letting you bounce light off the ceiling or the wall to take the edge off even as you work late into the night. And they're equipped with dimmers, which can be handy for giving your eyes a break. Plus, the unit is cool and energy efficient. The energy-efficient LED bulb should let you keep your workspace lit with no hit to your power bill and with minimal increased heat.

8 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Business From Home

Launching a business from home can provide tremendous flexibility and the kind of work-life balance that we all crave. But the reality is that home businesses bring their own set of challenges, says Caroline Daniels, lecturer for entrepreneurship and technology at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. For example, "doing your business on your own from home can get stale. It's hard to keep feeding the imagination all on your own."
Here are eight mistakes to avoid when starting a business from home:
Spending Too Much Time at Home: Loneliness is the number one complaint from people who work at home, says Anne Alexander, a small-business coach in Brevard, N.C. "Many people are not prepared for the isolated working environment." While it may seem easier to do everything virtually, that isn't the best approach. Instead, take time away from your home office for face-to-face meetings that will help build your business. Plan lunch dates, attend networking groups or work from coffee shops to build a social element into your day, Alexander says
Keeping a 24-7 Work Schedule: When Leon Oks co-founded iCanvasART, an online seller of custom canvases, he and several employees spent day and night working from his dining room. It's a recipe for burnout. "You're feeling guilty that you're not working, and there's no disconnect," Oks says. Eventually, he asked employees to leave by 6 p.m. and made sure to schedule free time into his day. But this year, he moved his Niles, Ill.-based company to an office space because the growing business was becoming difficult to manage at home.
Related: Simple Time Management Tips When You're Overwhelmed
Allowing Interruptions: Without a boss breathing down your neck, it's easy to take a phone call or two from family and friends. But when you're constantly in "interrupt mode," it hurts your business focus, Daniels says. To combat disruptions, she recommends setting aside blocks of quiet time throughout the day when you don't allow phone calls or email alerts. You also need to be careful about getting pulled too often into distracting chores like laundry or childcare. Remind family members and babysitters of your work hours and explain you'll be answering only urgent requests.
Depending Too Much on Loved Ones: Without coworkers around, you can easily fall into a habit of talking out your business problems with your spouse or friends. But loved ones may get weary of talking about your business. What's more, they may not provide the best advice because they don't always understand your business, Alexander says. So, try to connect with others in your field to develop an informal network of advisors. "Build a mastermind group of others with home-based businesses," Alexander suggests.
Related: How to Stop Over Thinking and Get Things Done
Failing to Create a Separate Work Area: Even if you don't live in a huge home, set aside a space reserved almost entirely for work. Opt for a little-used room or even an empty corner of your living area to create a physical divide between work and home. If you must work in a common area of the house like the dining room or kitchen, put away personal objects to set a professional tone for the day, Daniels says. "Even if you don't have a separate space, you can create it."
Letting Employees Abuse Your Home: You risk damage to your home if you don't establish rules for how employees should behave there. For example, Oks got stressed out over how his workers would eat lunch in his living room, walk on his light-colored carpet with their shoes on, and tack notes onto the walls. Instead of scolding employees later, it's better to set expectations from the get go, Oks says. "Set up rules you're comfortable with." Oks began asking employees to take off their shoes and clean off their workspace at the end of the day so he could use his dining room table each evening.
Related: To Do More, First Slow Down
Getting too Busy to Stay Organized: As work piles up, it's easy to let organization slide, says Tata Harper, who started an eponymous skincare line at her home in Shoreham, Vt. "It is easy to succumb to disorganization when you are working in the same place that you live since it is a private space that you don't often share with" coworkers or other visitors, she says. Harper files papers away before they pile up and stores only business-related items there. In addition, she finds that decorating and brightly lighting her office motivates her to keep it clean.
Starting the Day Without a Plan: "Without conscious decisions about how to spend your time, your day can slip away without much to show for it," says Elaine Quinn, Chicago-based author of There's No Place Like Working From Home (Calloran Publishing, July 2011). Instead, give time to both short-term actions and long-term goals so you run your business in a more balanced manner. Create a schedule and stick to it. "Rather than making to-do lists, enter tasks directly into your [daily] planner," which allows you to set a specific deadline for completing each task, Quinn says. Also, make sure you leave unscheduled time in the day to deal with important but unexpected issues that crop up.