Ready to set up an attractive-yet-thrifty home office?  While the space needs to be functional, being careful can sometimes make you feel like your hands are tied when it comes to aesthetics.  There are actually some terrific solutions for creating a work area that uses your money and space wisely, yet is still pleasing to the eye. Whether it’s reinventing a space (or building one!) or organizing your chosen space, we’ve got some answers for you.

Start with electronics

You might think it’s putting the cart before the horse, but by starting with your gadgetry, you can decide exactly how much space you need to carve out for function.  It’s also a non-negotiable to some extent, so it greatly influences the remainder of your project budget.  If you plan to just pay bills, reply to emails and surf the web, a tablet might be all you need, and you can get by with just enough space to sit and concentrate.  However, if you’re looking at managing a business from home, you might need multiple monitors, a laptop, room for a printer, and so forth, so contemplate horizontal surfaces and elbow room.  You can pick out electronics from retailers like Best Buy.  To get the biggest bang for your buck, check out Rakuten’s Best Buy shopping guide. It offers tips like taking advantage of Best Buy’s price-match guarantee, shopping the Deal of the Day, and finding coupons that give you cashback on your purchases.

Reinvent a room

The easiest way to put together a home office where there was none before is by giving an existing room a different purpose.  One way to do this is to make the room lead a double life.  For instance, turning a spare bedroom into a home office that moonlights on occasion for guests makes better use of your space.  Extra Space suggests employing furniture that knows how to multitask, such as a murphy bed or daybed, a desk on casters, and a desk chair that guests will enjoy lounging on.  Stores like IKEA deliver to your home, have a bit of everything you need for the conversion, and you can take advantage of their limited-time offers when outfitting the space.  

Choose your area wisely

If you don’t have room to spare, you still have options.  When looking for a space to squeeze in your home office, view your home with fresh eyes.  Think about an area that is going to waste, like a seldom-used corner or extra closet.  Virtually any room in the house could work, so be open-minded.  Blend in your desk by making it mesh with the rest of the room.  You can even DIY a desk from floating shelves, cobble together a vintage door and sawhorses, or hide it in plain sight by installing it in an old entertainment armoire. 

Light up your life

Proper lighting is a must in any home office.  Essilor points out working in a low-light situation can lead to eye strain, reducing your ability to concentrate, making you feel tired, and even causing headaches.  Contemplate kinds of lighting that might work out well in the space you’re designing.  Layering light sources can help reduce glare.  If you’re going to sit in your own shadow, a desk lamp, wall sconce or pendant fixture could be just the ticket.  You might need to experiment with your layout to decide exactly what you need, but once you narrow it down, you can shop Target’s deals for inexpensive and trendy lighting options. 

When you don’t want to go overboard on spending, and you need a new workspace, it can feel like your hands are tied.  However, with a little creativity, you can carve out an aesthetically-pleasing home office despite minimal square footage.  Start with your necessities, view your home with fresh eyes, and you’re sure to find an attractive, functional, and budget-friendly solution.