Spruce Up Your Home Office for Fall

The kids have all returned to school and your neglected home office needs an upgrade. If you work from home or have a home office where you do your personal finances, run a side business or just use for quiet time, you may not have seen it much during the summer months of fun. Fall is back and it's time to get productive again. Spruce up your home office this fall, it'll make tackling all those overdue projects a lot more tolerable.

1. Add Better Lighting

* Full-Spectrum Lighting - If you live in the state which experiences cold winter temperatures and a lack of sunshine in the winter, you need better lighting. Try a full-spectrum desk light to fight Seasonal Affective Disorder.

* Replace light bulbs, dust out all hanging lamps, lampshades and clean off table lamps.

* Add extra task lighting where you need it. Consider adding multiple floor lamps, an extra table or desk lamp, wall-mounted lamps and lighting for your bookshelves.

2. Increase Storage

Wait until the end of back-to-school season to stock up on storage units. Catch the store sales before they start clearing the shelves for Halloween decorations and (eek!) Christmas decor.

* Buy cushioned storage items which add extra seating.

* Upgrade your office supply and file storage systems by investing in matching boxes and bins. Having the same color will help streamline the look of your office and remove the visual clutter.

3. Add More You to Your Office

Your home office space should reflect your personality. If it doesn't, you may as well be working in a cubicle in a cold corporate office.

* Repaint the walls with color you love. For an energetic feel, repaint most of the walls a neutral color and add a burst of color to one wall.

* Hang round cork boards on the wall. These look great painted. Use one for photos, one for random ideas or images and another for important notes.

4. Expand your Workspace

Change out any narrow desk, writing desk or desk that's just too small for all of your big ideas A drawing or drafting table ins an affordable alternative to a standard desk. There is ample workspace and the desktop can be set flat for a computer or it can be tilted for drawing. The height is also adjustable to help you create a more ergonomic work. Drawing tables are also easy to move and set up since the front legs are not bolted in and they can be folded in for easy moving and storage.