About Patio Designs
 

Transform Your Patio Into a Perfect Home Office

Patio Home Office

If you work from home, you may get tired of working in your home office room everyday. Or maybe you just want to be able to get out and enjoy the beautiful summer weather and warm climate while you work. If this is what you desire, you can without doubt turn your patio into a functional workspace that is relaxing but allows you to concentrate on your work. Here are some ideas that you need to change your patio into another home office. 

Furniture.

It will be a little hard to concentrate on your work when you are lying on your patio couch, so you might need to revamp your patio furniture a little. If you use a laptop computer, you can get a practical laptop computer stand from Ikea for less than $20 or from any home depot. You can also get a small table or use a small table that is already on your patio as a place to sit and work. A portable work table will be easy to set up on the patio only when you choose to work outside should be a long but narrow folding table. You can easily get these at stores like Target or Wal-Mart for under $40.  

Instead of using office chair, try sitting on a cushioned papasan or an ottoman chair. On the other hand, a picnic table also makes a great functional outdoor workspace while bistro tables can do double duty as a great place to enjoy your morning coffee and to get your work done.  

Tech gadgets. 

The main technical gears that you probably need when you want to work outdoors will be a computer and phone. You can use a cell phone which is completely portable or you can invest in a headset phone. There are some phone company that make phones that has a headphone unit and a small portable base that is about the size of a credit card. Both of these plug into a main unit at night so they can recharge but during the day you can roam about the house or work on the patio with this tiny but professional phone. These phones usually cost less than $50 each.  

A laptop computer is essential for working outdoors. If your battery isn’t very strong or if you want to work outdoors for long time, you can use a simple cord hider, to safely run an extension cord from the nearest power point to the patio so you can plug in your laptop. Just ensure that you hide the cord to prevent anyone from tripping on it. 

You may also need a fax machine, in which you can do away with it by signing up for an online service that sends faxes through email and allow you to receive faxes through email. Using that service, you can send and receive all the faxes that you want and you can do it all from your computer in the comfort of your patio.  

Cover.

Not only do you need to protect yourself from the hot sun but you will also need to protect your laptop and cut the glare on the screen so that you can work efficiently and effectively. If you don’t have a canopy on your patio and you are planning on working outside more, you should consider installing a retractable awning over your patio. An awning will keep the patio from getting too hot and it will provide the protection that you need for your computer.

Sound barrier.

You won’t be able to hear clients or contribute to phone and video meetings if the neighbor’s kids are screaming or if there are lot of bikes and cars going by. You will need to somehow make your patio pleasant and quiet so you can have uninterrupted work. To help lessen the background noise that comes from being outdoors you can use a phone with a noise canceling feature or you can put up things to provide a sound barrier. 

In order to build up as much of a sound barrier as possible, you can arrange the patio furniture to create a wall between the outside world and you. Alternately, you can put lots of thick plants in tall pots on the side of the patio that faces the street. You can even put up some room dividers, if you wish to. Any kind of barrier that you put between you and the source of the noise will surely help to dampen the sound. 

Healthy distractions. 

Even when you are working in the beautiful outdoors, it is good to get up from the computer for at least five minutes every hour and stretch. That doesn’t change just because you are not sitting at your desk. To do this, you can keep some balls nearby and when you get up to stretch, take a run to the end of the yard dribbling a soccer ball or bouncing a basketball. Also, shoot some hoops in the driveway or go swing on an old tire swing for a few minutes. A few minutes of playing will get your blood flowing and will make it easier to concentrate on your work when you do site down to work again.  

Just make sure that you don’t get so caught up in playing that you forget to work. It can be beautiful to work outdoors on a beautiful summer or fall day but some people might have a hard time concentrating when they are trying to work outside. Working outside isn’t for everyone, but give it a try and see if working on the patio will work for you.

Search This Site