Are you tired of working from home uncomfortably on your couch or an overly cluttered dining room table? Start your planning for a productivity boosting work from home space with our guide for budgets big and small.
The pandemic changed the way Australians and people across the world live their lives. A lot happened since 2020 and, while some things have reverted back to how they were, others have had longer lasting effects. One of the most prominent has been the shift to working from home and remote work in general.
In the early days of the pandemic, working from home was chaotic. Dining tables became multi-use pieces of furniture, often used by multiple people. Coffee tables were turned into desks, overloaded power adapters became the norm and the need for quiet spaces for video calls was unprecedented.
While these conditions were fine in the short-term, many Aussies have now been blessed with the ability to work from home on a regular basis. Rather than working in cramped conditions, the demand for custom work from home spaces has become a feature of the renovation world.
Creating a work from home space is one of the harder renovation projects to cost. Depending on your needs and options, a dedicated WFH space can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands.
If you already have a suitable space to use, like a spare bedroom or a study nook, you’re only looking at furnishings. A desk and comfortable office chair at a minimum, but a few extras might make it a nicer space to work in. Add shelves, a floor lamp, a power board and some office supplies and you’re ready to go.
These items can be bought for a few hundred dollars new, but if you’re thrifty with op shops and online marketplaces, you can get great quality equipment for next to nothing. This is especially true for office equipment as some workplaces are requiring their workers to come back into the office now, meaning some people no longer have a need for their WFH equipment.
At the other end of the scale, you may not have enough room in your home to create a home office. In this instance, you may be tempted to build an extension or a granny flat to give yourself the space you need to work.
As a rule of thumb, as of 2023, the cost of a granny flat is between $80,000 and $120,000, while house extension costs will start from $160,000.
Making use of a suitable space in an existing room is a cost-effective way to create a place you can comfortably work from home.
The biggest factor in how much your work from home renovations will cost, is how much space you have available. Creating a new room or a free-standing structure in your yard will be by far the biggest expense. Of course, there are creative and cheaper ways to build this. The shipping container craze is one option.
Sometimes, though, a small renovation may be all that’s required. Sectioning off one big room or converting a garage, for example, can transform your working from home experience for a lot less. The cost of a garage conversion is likely to be between $10,000 and $40,000.
Building a new wall can be a fairly expensive job (although cheaper than other alternatives), but you can save money with a bit of creativity. Buying a large bookcase and creatin a pleasant divider which, although not as soundproof as other options, is easily reversible if you find yourself going back into the office.
Home equipment costs can vary too. A brand new desk might be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand for an electric standing desk. However, you can save money by looking for second hand options or cheap desk riser options.
The time required to create a work from home space can vary dramatically. If you’re just looking to kit out a nook or unused room, you could buy everything you need over a weekend.
Extensions, conversions and granny flats all take a lot longer. As well as the time taken to decide on tradies, create designs and find a window to do the work, you’re looking at anywhere between a fortnight and a few months for the work to be completed.
For any work that requires major changes, you’ll want to hire someone to make a design. An architect or building designer may be required to sketch out office ideas, while some may like to work with an interior designer to get the work space looking just right.
A builder is an obvious person to help with major changes and, if you’re buying a lot of equipment, hiring a removalist to take care of logistics can take a lot of stress off your plate.
You may require other changes too. Calling an electrician to install new power points or a window installer to allow natural light into your office are high among the tasks involved. These obviously add to your overall bill, but the satisfaction of working in a light-filled space with plenty of places to plug in laptops, monitors, printers, phones and the rest is hugely beneficial.
In terms of maintenance, unless something goes wrong, there’s very little in the way of maintenance to be done. Hiring a cleaner is one way to take a job off your hands.
All builders working on extensions and renovations in Australia required the appropriate qualifications and licences.
Other professionals like architects, electricians and plumbers also need to be licensed, but many others like painters and cleaners do not need official qualifications to work in your home.
Creating a dedicated work from home space with natural light can improve energy levels and productivity.
The cheapest way to create an office space is to make do with what you already have, especially in a small home or unit. A couple of ideas are turning an unused corner of your living room into your work area or changing how you use one of your rooms.
Buying second hand equipment, like desks and chairs, is also significantly cheaper than buying new. You can often find incredibly well-made furniture that’s built to last this way.
In some areas of the country, rebates are available for safe work. If you have your own ABN and live in NSW, you can get up to $1000 for OH&S purposes. This can help cover the costs for a stand-up desk, for example.
Speaking to your employer about available funding may also help to cover the costs of some of your renovations or equipment.
Ergonomic furniture can make your work from home space more comfortable.
As with any room in your house, you often get what you pay for. From flooring to furniture and tradies, doing research into what you’re paying for will pay off in the long run.
Ordering from sites that have reviews and star ratings is a good first step in making sure you’re getting something of value. With physical products, if you can see the item first-hand and test it (for example, sitting on a seat), you can get a much better idea of what you’re buying.
In most cases, work from home offices require very little maintenance. The most common help required would be with cleaning, both on a regular basis and on one-off occasions, like with carpet cleaning.
In most office spaces, there’s very little repair work required. You may need to speak to a carpenter or furniture reupholster from time to time, but otherwise there is very little wear and tear in these spaces.
*Costs and prices in this article are indicative and should only be used as a guide. They also vary locally and are subject to market forces.
The best work space depends on your own needs, but generally you’ll want a quiet space (especially if you’re going to make video calls), natural light, appropriate furniture and lots of electrical sockets.
If you only have a small space to work from, and no spare room to convert, your work from home space will have to be small too. For the best use, place a desk in an unused corner, ideally with natural light nearby (to the side rather than directly in front, if possible).
To create a distraction-free work from home space, buy a simple desk and chair and try to keep them uncluttered. A single laptop may be all you need. Make sure your view is simple too – no art on the wall and no window to day dream out of.
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