Home Office Design: Everything You Need to Know About Planning, Organizing, and Furnishing Your Work Space [Paperback]

Neal Zimmerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996

Your personal consultant for creating the perfect home work space Here is all the information you need to create a comfortable, efficient home office custom designed to meet your personal and professional needs. In this book, architect and home office design expert Neal Zimmerman shows you how to plan, design, and equip the home office that’s right for you. He helps you decide when to do the work yourself and when to hire professionals; and his numerous floor plans, photos, and examples provide countless design ideas and solutions to virtually every problem you encounter. This practical and inspiring guide provides

• Clear, step-by-step instructions for planning, organizing, and designing your home office space
• Simple tools for controlling costs and ensuring that you get the results you want
• Extensive coverage of workstation design
• Hundreds of photos, floor plans, and drawings to inspire the imagination and solve problems
• A broad range of design options to fit every budget
• Surveys of equipment, furnishings, and accessories available to help make your home office a better organized, more comfortable place to work
• Guidelines for those who are considering extensive renovations
• A section on planning for the desktop video era
• Charts, diagrams, planning methods, and inventory sheets to streamline the planning and design process

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These two books take different approaches to the topic of home offices. Zimmerman looks at the nuts-and-bolts practicality of planning a home office. For those unfamiliar with the design considerations involved in setting up an efficient, comfortable home office, he gives advice on everything from where to set up an office to the type of electrical power needed to supply all the gadgets. He includes an extensive section on furniture and product resources as well. Through numerous color photographs, Paul shows everything from small offices to ones in converted out-buildings. She considers how each look was accomplished, but her book is useful mainly as a way to show how the ideas from Zimmerman's book can be attractively incorporated into the home. Since technology now allows more and more people to work at home, both books will be useful for public libraries. (Illustrations not seen.)
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Architect Zimmerman offers a range of information to consider in planning a home office. Both pros and cons of all subjects are examined, beginning with specific locations (attic versus basement, spare bedroom versus walk-in closet) and concluding with notes on art, accessories, and plants. One of the most practical sections is a photo gallery of options for workstation furniture, seating, filing/storage, ergonomic tools, and task lighting, each with a cost range code and a brief description. Occasionally, the text is too sparse, relying on pictures to do the work; more checklists and data would be welcome. Nonetheless, a straightforward starting place for the 40 million of us doing at least some work at home. Barbara Jacobs

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 205 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471134333
• ISBN-13: 978-0471134336
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,534,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful if you're starting from scratch, January 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Home Office Design: Everything You Need to Know About Planning, Organizing, and Furnishing Your Work Space (Paperback)

Lots of good suggestions for the bewildered home office novice. New ideas for the seasoned office dweller as well. See also ERGONOMIC LIVING for some truly surprising insights on this subject.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly Obsolete Info, December 1, 2005

By 

Len Penzo (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Home Office Design: Everything You Need to Know About Planning, Organizing, and Furnishing Your Work Space (Paperback)

I was sadly disappointed in this book. I was looking for lots of photos of typical home offices from which I could get ideas from. Instead, I got lots of pictures of dated commercial computer and home office furniture from the 1990s that are no longer germaine to the more modern, compact computer equipment and peripherals of the 21st century.

The book did briefly discuss office layout at its most basic level, but only in the most generic sense. I think the largest section was on out-of-date office furniture and ergonomic chairs.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate, December 7, 2001

By 

Ken Haas (Barryville, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home Office Design: Everything You Need to Know About Planning, Organizing, and Furnishing Your Work Space (Paperback)

This is the ultimate book for planning an office at home. These practical suggestions will inform and inspire. The examples pictured spaces are so inviting, you'll enjoy looking at this book even if you work elsewhere! Highly recommended.