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All it takes is one too many episodes of Trading Spaces to think that any couch potato can be an interior designer, but planning a home office in an unfinished basement can still be an intimidating job. We'll look at a fictional typical family, who have expanded from having a computer set up in a spare bedroom upstairs to needing a separate space, and having an unfinished basement made things easier. If they are not comfortable, they won't spend the time there that is needed to make the investment of time and money on a project like this worthwhile. All the gear, the desk, chairs, computer, filing cabinets, everything could be moved downstairs and set up different ways before the first nail was hammered. They went through three different placements of the desk and computer before finding one that seemed to work. This is an important step, since it will help them figure out if one layout works or doesn't, leaving plenty of time to make adjustments to the plan before construction begins. Two things to consider before making the floor plan were the needs for wiring and power. For wiring and cables, there would be a need for a computer, a printer, and a phone, all of which would use cat5e cabling - this means that they ended up getting 4 ethernet cables pulled, so they could have one spare. The computer and printer would be patched into the home's central networking switch, and the phone cabled into the home's phone panel. They also pulled two coaxial cable lines - one for the main TV line, and the other as a secondary cable loop used within the house. Power was easier - it was decided that only two regular 15 amp circuits would be needed. One for the desk area: the computer, speakers, desk lamp, and other office equipment; the other for a spare outlet inside the room to feed the printer, the main room lights and an extra outlet on the outside wall of the office to keep with local building codes, which demand an outlet on every wall greater than two feet in length. They have more than enough free breakers in the main electrical panel, so they can afford to dedicate circuits this way. Besides, it avoids the problem of having a breaker trip because a vacuum cleaner was plugged into a hallway plug that happened to share the same circuit as a load carrying circuit, like an entertainment system. After thinking about the needs of the technology, they needed to think about the needs of the people inside the space itself. They weren't going to have face to face meetings with potential clients there - the space was just for parents to work and friends to come and visit on business, so seating was optimized with the main desk against an outside wall, and two guest seats in two of the room's corners. This also helped in planning the actual amount of space needed for both the room and the desk itself. There wasn't a need for a lot of real estate besides the computer monitor and enough elbow room to write, but they did want extra shelving space for plants, CDs, books and trinkets. With that out of the way, the last part of the design plan was architectural. There were no physical obstructions that couldn't be moved and had to be planned around, like support beams or ductwork, so they were able to focus solely on the careful use of light and space. Looking at the floor plans for the rest of the house, they noticed several 45 degree angles and decided to reflect those angles in the basement - it would give the feeling of flow, with a consistant look to the rest of the house. They added soundproofed insulation to the walls and ceiling as a final touch to make sure that they had privacy when needed. The end result? A 10 foot by 10 foot square room with a four foot right angle triangle cut out of the corner closest to the rest of the house. They had a large plant shelf directly underneath the main window, with the desk positioned beneath it to take in the best view and enough seating to accommodate their guests while they show off their own digital projects. Needless to say, our fictional family is pleased with the results.
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