How to Furnish a Home Office Inexpensively

Your home office doesn't have to be all business, no style. A resourceful decorator can furnish a home office attractively and inexpensively - here are some ways to satisfy budget and aesthetics.

Things You'll Need

• Computer Monitors
• Printers
• Telephones (cordless Probably Best)
• Bookcases
• Desk Chairs
• Desk Lamps
• Desks
• File Cabinets
• Interior Paints
• Round Particleboard Tables
• Simple Valance Curtains
• Unfinished Furniture
• Venetian Blinds
• Round Tablecloths
• Office Supplies
• Computers
• Used Computers
• Sawhorses

Instructions

1. Craft your own desk from two file cabinets or two sawhorses topped with finished plywood.

2. Haunt tag sales, rummage sales and thrift stores if you're not in a hurry; desks, file cabinets, bookcases, lamps, chairs, phones and computer equipment regularly pop up at these venues.

3. Look in your classified telephone directory to see whether there's a secondhand office-furniture store in your area. Call ahead to check stock on items you're particularly interested in.

4. Check for unfinished furniture. While not the cheapest way to go, this can net a nice savings if you're handy with a paintbrush.

5. Consider ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture, most of which is easy to put together nowadays. RTA bookcases, desks, consoles and desk chairs can be very reasonably priced - sometimes less than $100 - and are available in styles ranging from high-tech to very traditional Chippendale.

6. Comparison shop for a desk chair, but go with comfort over price. This is an item you don't want to skimp on if you'll sit for more than an hour at a stretch.

7. Think about what you really need in terms of office supplies. A case of file folders, no matter how cheap, could be too much for you to use within a reasonable amount of time. And while office-supply super stores often give deep discounts, basic supplies at mass-market discount department stores could cost less.

Tips & Warnings

• Creativity is your biggest ally. An easy antique or other faux finish can rescue a scratched desk or bookcase; embossed wallpaper (which you finish later) can rescue an ugly metal file cabinet.

• Save money by leaving the window plain or by using a simple valance or miniblind.

• Put a full-length round tablecloth over one of those inexpensive hide-a-tables (three legs that screw into a round particleboard tabletop) so it can serve as a printer stand or lamp table and - as a bonus - its skirt can hide office supplies, books, software boxes, etc.