Home Office Should Work For You

For great gobs of us, home has become a whole lot more than where the heart is. It’s also where the work is.

The challenge: How do I make my home office space look like something more than, well, a home office space?

Donna Paul, author of “The Home Office Book” (Artisan, $35), likes to blend home office storage with style. An uncomplicated starting point is a decorative screen. Pick one that complements your scheme and use it to screen a corner that you can then use to stash all those boxes of supplies.

Choose furniture that can do double duty. Look for a desk that can serve as a dining table as well as a work surface, an armoire that can store both business files and clothing, bedding, whatever.

Remember the look of the office you used to work in? Dull and uninviting, more than likely. Strive for the opposite. This space is yours, not some corporate type’s. Make it work for you.