Thoughts Basement Office

10 years ago

We are doing a lot of renovations in our home in April/May. One of the things we are finally getting around to is putting in a dedicated office for me. I work from home and am in my office 8-12 hours a day 5-6 days a week.

The goal is to have something nice and comfy for me in the basement. I am a night owl, so I don't need lots of big windows (and prefer not to), so the basement is perfect. The biggest issue currently is that the 10x12 room has 4 concrete walls and is COLD.

We will be framing it in 2x4 and using foam insulation in the walls and ceiling to help with thermal regulation, as well as noise reduction (since I like to turn up Pandora, and my wife's office is directly above mine).

I have a large computer and 3 large screens, so a large desktop area is important. I also need a decent "working" area that is not directly in front of the screens. I like lots of leg room as well since I'm one of those people who cannot hold still. I am constantly moving my legs, swiveling in my chair, etc. I was always banging my knees into the sides of my old desk. I have an L desk now that is OK, but it literally falling apart.

I have a large desktop computer, two printers, a scanner, and two (not small) phones, so I need a lot of desktop real estate.
I keep folders for each of my active projects, and archive them upon completion for later referral, so I need filing space.

Then of course I have my office supplies like reams of paper, ink cartridges, toner, drums, etc.

I am not sure what to do about the desktop. I originally had granite, but the budget is getting really tight, and I don't think I really need it in the office. In the kitchen it makes sense, but less so in the office. Other solid surfaces seem to be as expensive, so formica, or laminate top seems to make most sense. I'd appreciate other's thoughts on it.

Here is what I came up with and had a designer at cliq put together.

I have no idea what rules (if any) exist when designing a home office. So please critique away. Don't spare my feelings, I appreciate honest constructive criticism.

Overall Design:

View from the Doorway:

Backwall, 4 large filing drawers, shelves for books, and storage:

Side peninsula, printers will go here, cartridges, paper, etc in the cabinet under.

Front of room, side of my "desk" area. Drawers for pens, paper, and misc office things. Corner cabinet will hide most of the wiring/plugs:

Rest of my "desk". Open area for my desktop. Would be open in the front and back to allow for ventilation. Large area for my feet and so I can slide to the side to work on other things.

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Comments (5)

scrappy25
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Some thoughts-
-With 3 screens you might want a larger kneehole.Maybe get rid of that cabinet between the desk and the door and move the cabinet currently to the left of the kneehole over?
-Are you sure you need so much filing space? All our offices are going electronic and getting rid of the filing space.
-I would find granite very uncomfortable to work on for an office desk surface. Wood or laminate is best. Your layout allows standard prefab countertops to be used.
- with that much desk work you should give serious thought to a standing desk. There are many articles on how sitting all day is hurting all of us. I have been using a standing desk at work for 2 years now and my concentration, energy, and fitness have improved. It's also easier to view our 4 monitors since I can move my whole body not just my head. I think that because I am standing I actually move around a lot more during the day without even thinking about it. At work we have fancy electric workstations that go up and down. At home I purchased an used electric drafting table for the same purpose, just changed out the top.
scrappy25
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Also, assuming that you are running HVAC to the office. Once it is insulated and carpeted it will be cozy as long as you have good heating and ventilation. Our basement is now the coolest part of our house in the summer and the warmest in the winter, we love it.
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Great ideas! Ronbre - yes it's a walk out basement, but the basement consists of a family room (with doorwalls to the outside) a bedroom and a bathroom. This room is the bedroom that only has a regular window. When you are facing the door the window is on the left. The room already has the aluminum mini-blinds (not the most attractive but they match the trim and certainly work to filter the sun. Depending on finaces we might get something better but they are functional. I saw a desk at Ikea that was like an L-shape. So that might be an idea. He could have one section of the L, under the window, then the other part would be perpendicular (90 degrees) out across the room. but because it's over to one side it would still allow plenty of access to the closets. The closet already has a closet organizer in it so with a few more shelves it might meets most of his storage needs. Suero - The door actually opens into the family room, which is great because it doesn't eat up any room in the guestroom/office. utahman - yes, this is going to be interesting. Our kids are older and in school all day, but I'm going to have to resist the temptation to talk to him all day. I'm currently back in school (doing an online program) so I tend to get lonely! Have to resist that urge! mjlb- never heard of the birth year aspect- I'll check that out. Right now I'm looking at finding a room size air purifier. We have a dry basement but there is something about it that both hubby and I find irritating down there (and neither of us has diagnosed allergies). I honestly think it's because we don't clean it as often as we should (becuase we don't use it much) and it's kind of dusty, and additionally I'm going to get the carpets cleaned and just generally deep clean the whole space. Thanks again!
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jpmom - I love that file cabinet. The site states that a minimum of two items must be purchased though, and I didn't find a second piece. No tall shelving, as we have a closet with lots of shelving for storage in that room. Yes, the worktable needs to accommodate a chair, likely the same chair as the main desk I showed first. I don't think there will be adequate room for two chairs. We have two windows, connected to one another on one wall in that room, facing the front of the house. The room is carpeted with a monotone neutral, but frieze style carpet. I would love an area rug, but it may not be workable with the carpeting. It is a cold climate up here, and most people have carpet in their homes for warmth. Yes, I would consider an accent wall with wallpaper, however, the walls are somewhat textured. beverly - I have ordered, with good results, from Wayfair before, and I do like those pieces, especially the last desk. I will check that out, for sure. cmarlin - I love great Craigslist finds. I have scoured some, but just haven't found the right thing, I guess. Fun - What a great idea to hide away the printers, etc. We do have a closet in that room, which could work, although I don't think there is an outlet in there. Also, one of the printers (laser) is not wireless, but that could be changed, of course. Great idea. It's possible that could work. FinallyHome - Yes, Chic Coterie is the Hooker line, indeed. The entertainment center you showed first is beautiful. It is too long, though, for the space we have, unfortunately. I did the online search, and I see the items you listed. Thank you! I will look at their dimensions, etc., as well. mdln - I agree about the matching sets, the majority of the time. I really do like the first desk and file drawer I posted most. So if that can work, I would like to use it. Thanks, all. You gave me much to go on.
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scrappy25
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
One more thing. With that much time in the basement, please consider egress options in case there is a fire that prevents you from exiting up the basement stairs to the first floor. We had an egress window put into our basement when we finished it for safety reasons and it transformed our basement into a daylight basement. I know you don't need the windows for light but safety is a prime consideration.
dizzy149
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
1) The thought of a standing desk scares me. Some days I need to just sit and zone out (or take a power nap). I am curious what the electric drafting table set you back and how you incorporated it. Would make me nervous moving $3k worth of monitors up and down.

2) No, no HVAC, the house is build in the 30s and doesn't have any. We use a swamp cooler during the summer, and if I open a window it gets pretty cool in the basement. Last summer it was 100+ more often than not, and it was 70-74 in the basement (72-80 upstairs).

3) Due to a lot of factors (age, build, location on the lot, trees) adding egress to the home is EXPENSIVE! $10k-12k to put in a single egress window. Right now we are focused on some functional things that will give us a lot of return on the value of our home. With the additional value we plan to add an egress to one of the rooms in the basement. We expect our son to want to move into the basement in 3-5 years, and it will be a MUST for that.
scrappy25
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi Dizzy, I used to have to zone out also when I was sitting especially in the early afternoon, but no longer since I have been standing. There are a lot of articles now on using standing desks. Here is one.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/04/confirmed-he-who-sits-the-most-dies-the-soonest/256101/

We actually have five monitors (four high resolution) on our electric desks at work with two computers, probably 12+k equipment when it was purchased. The desks were additionally 3k each. All those prices have come down significantly in the last 5 years. I raise and lower the desks every day without problem. Of course you have to use some common sense in setup with cord management.

The old defunct Mayline digital drafting table was $150 on craigslist but the electric rise still works. We changed out the nonworking digitizer top for a wood table top, also purchased from craigslist ($100 for the table, we discarded the legs) . The mayline tables are angled but we had the metal supports shaved so that the table top is now horizontal. It goes up and down very smoothly.

I would personally hesitate to sink so much money into extensive cabinetry for an office that I would spend most of my life in without taking care of safety and health. However I understand that you have limitations.

Best wishes whatever you decide and hopefully someone will chime in on the layout.

Thoughts Basement Office

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