How to create the perfect home office - Part 1 - The desk and furniture

The furniture in an office is the second most important aspect of the office next to the computer. Your furniture defines the look and function of your office. If simplicity is your goal, you need furniture that has clean lines and plenty of unobtrusive storage. If multi-tasking is your goal, you need a desk with lots of surface area and room. Don’t take your desk decision lightly. My last desk lasted 10 years.

Don’t fret however. I have done the legwork. I have found the hands down best furniture for your home office. (In all actuality, I first saw this furniture at the Jungle Disk offices in Atlanta. Props to that team for having great furniture).

The Desk

The Galant series at Ikea is the worlds best desk system. It is extremely configurable, very sturdy, and very sleek. I have yet to see a desk that rivals it. Not too mention there are plenty of accessories and add-ons to add additional functionality to your desk. Here are just a few sample pictures of different configurations.

I encourage you to go to Ikea and look through the many combinations and pick one that you like. Or just go to the store and see 8 or so different configurations of the same desk.

In the subsequent posts on my office, I will show you some of the nerdy benefits of this desk system as well (namely a nice frame for running wires and plenty of surface area for velcro).

Effectiv Furniture

The Effectiv system is just a nice storage system. Like everything Ikea, it has plenty of options and is very functional as well. In my setup, I am storing everything from hanging file folders to pens and pencils. Again, some more sample configurations.

The final picture

Putting it all together, this is what my office looks like with the desk and storage cabinet. As you can see, very sleek while still having a ton of storage.

Other minor things to note, in the pictures I have the Markus chair and the Galant Drawer system to put the finishing touches on the office furniture.

In summary, think hard about your furniture. It is super important. Stay tuned for next weeks post on equipment and software.