Soho Done Right (Part I)

02 December 2011,
Soho Special

There was a time in history—before the industrial revolution went global—that all offices were operated from home or a small shop. SoHo (small office/home office) lost its charm when companies started needing a vast number of “white collar” workers to run the mills and churn over paperwork. However, in this decade, more and more people are venturing into consultancy and private entrepreneurship, which requires no more than the modern day sleek and thin laptop, an all-in-one printer, and a mobile device. Besides the convenience and comfort of going to work in your jammies, there’s also the advantage of personalizing a workspace that matches the very likeness of your work style in which a large corporation cannot provide.

Aside from the usual stationaries and technologies, how you furnish your SoHo will either assist in or complicate your workflow. Here are some tips and guides that we’ve accumulated from expert designers to make the deed of putting together a home office easy-breezy.

Lighting
Quality of light affects us in many different ways: Good lighting determines the mood and desirability of spaces and enhances performance. While not all lighting situation is the same (restaurants must have a dim setting for ambience control versus home dining must be well lit to encourage conversation), the basic elements are to provide a comfortable and friendly visual environment that is cost-savvy and low maintenance.

To do
- Difference in color temperature and rendering will drastically change the appearance of objects within a room. Depending on where you want your illumination, the first and best procedure to take is to fill your local light designer or interior decorator on what your profession is. Companies such as Alfo or Philips are fail-proof advisors.

- Never compromise on having a desk lamp. Built-in lighting fixtures are considered ‘general lighting’ and a good quality set-up allows you to control the brightness. A desk lamp is flexible and can be adjusted to suit any desk setting.

- Minimize the contrast between the work/project and the background. A study room that’s dark with only the drawing board lit only works well for a scene in a Hollywood movie. In real life, this type of lighting stresses the visual sensors.

- Choose practicality over fashion. New light concepts are emerging daily, it seems, but how functional and reliable they are is questionable. Of course, if it is possible to achieve aestheticism and performance, you’re doing it right.

Ventilation
Ideally a study should have one or two windows to prevent clamminess and sooty air quality. The most elementary form of ventilation, of course, is natural ventilation. Off-gassing is a common pollutant found in the air from paint and furniture—not to mention all the technologies that fume with heat and other toxins. Making use of differing methods to filter the air within a room is a vital key to any interior space.

To do
- Assuming that your quarter does have window(s), make sure they are not stationary and can be opened (or closed) at any given moment. Due to Malaysia’s harsh and temperamental climate, it may not be wise to leave windows opened throughout the day, but at a minimum, aerate the space at least
one or two hours per day to rid the
room of unpleasant odor and other airborne pollutants.

- People with allergies or are highly sensitive to outside debris should consider an alternative, such as installing an air-conditioning system or exhaust fan. The cost-efficient choice is an exhaust fan; however, while it draws stale air out of a space, it allows very little fresh air to enter. Air-conditioners are more sophisticated; they not only regulate temperature but are equipped with a system of filters that expel bad air, replacing it with good air that’s
allergen-free and odorless.

- Pay attention to energy efficiency. Opt for machines that can produce maximum results on the least amount of energy. (Our brand choices are Hitachi and York). Consider using natural sources like sunlight and wind to fuel your electricity.

Shaping The Furniture
Finding the perfect desk is a lot harder than you think, especially since there are boundless options now available within reasonable price. What separates ‘a’ desk from ‘the’ desk is its ability to ease your workflow, hide unsightly wirings, disperse clutter and match the rest of the room. It is illogical to insist a designer work on a pedestal desk or a scientist to conclude his/her experiments on amber wood.

The shape and its functions
Full Pedestal comes in three variants:
No Panel: A counter of the modesty panel, only the left and right side drawers are supporting the desk. Ideal for laptops or moderate paperwork, and can be either reared against a wall or loosely placed in the center of a room.

Modesty panel: There is a back panel that extends to the floor and covers the wall the desk leans against. Perfect for hiding cords or working with a laptop; however, this type of desks is not suitable to receive clients or customers.

3/4 Pedestal: This structure is an in-between of the priors—in its pros and cons: The back panel can either extend to the ground or be halfway, but its drawers do not reach the floor. This particular desk does not support heavy objects as its legs are panels.

Configuration is a unit of desks, both standard and custom.
The ‘L’: Consists of a single pedestal desk and a ‘return’. A return is a separate piece that either goes on the left or right to angle the pedestal into an ‘L’. This is a “have-it-all” shape that enables multi-tasking—from a standard desktop to laptop, to paperwork and

The ‘U’: A conglomerate of a two pedestal desks and a bridge unit (or credenza with or without a hurtch). This mammoth set-up is more suitable for people with a large space, as it takes up a handsome portion of room. It has more storage area and filing capabilities, especially if you add on a credenza (a secondary work surface) with a hutch (a vertical extension that sits atop the surface of a credenza).

It seems like a lot to digest, but the most potent question that all these desks ask is: Are you inviting your clients to your home office? If you are, go with something that’s comfortable and inviting. However, if you’re running a casual and creative workshop in your study, then your meeting area can be as enthusiastic and unconventional as a beanbag or floor mat. But bear in mind, how comfortable your work space is when the company has gone is still determined by how functional your desk is.