With gas prices on the rise many commuters are now working from their home offices permanently or just a few days a week.?If you are new to the home office scenario, then starting with a good design will be imperative for creating a good work flow. After you are finished clearing out your old stuff and initiate your new design; furniture, computers, phone/internet access and lighting may be just a few things on your to do list.
Equo LED Desk Lamp by Koncept
Two common characteristics of office lighting design include visual comfort and task visibility. These will make your home office a better place to work. One way to achieve these are through utilizing several layers of lighting that will provide general (aka ambient) light and sufficient light for specific tasks.
Ambient Lighting
When choosing ambient lighting look for a fixture that will provide your space with uniform, soft light that will spread throughout your room without unwanted shadows. Indirect lighting fixtures such as a wall sconce that points upward will work well to achieve this first layer of light. Take into consideration when selecting your light fixtures and placement that unnecessary glare on your computer screen may cause distraction in your work.
Task Lighting
Task lighting consists of a lamp that is placed close to where you need light to work, i.e. a desk lamp is placed on your desk to provide better lighting for writing and other desk work. ?Over the last few years desk lamps have really taken a turn for the better. Many of these new lamp designs consist of ergonomic thin light fixtures, many of which use LED lighting. The addition of LED lighting has lowered the heat of the light bulb and the size, it has increased the light span and decreased the space requirements that were once needed for a table lamp.
Bauhaus Architects Lamp by Visual Comfort
Other lighting design considerations:
Will you hire an electrician or perform the work yourself? Will your fixtures need new electrical configurations or will you purchase fixtures that can be plugged directly into a traditional light socket? Set a budget for the entire project. When choosing a fixture, is energy efficiency an objective? If so, an?LED lamp?may be your best choice.
