How to Furnish Your Office on a Budget

Whether your new office is 100 square feet or 1000 square feet long, it’s still going to require furnishing.  Sometimes, though, the office is the last room in the house to get furnished or it’s for a small business that doesn’t have a lot of cash to allot towards furniture and other similar overhead expenses, so the budget is already used up or has very little remaining to spend.  If that’s the case for your home or office, don’t worry – these four tips can help furnish your office on a budget.

1. Utilize Your Current Furniture

Do you have an extra table or picture frames lying around?  Or that weird chair you bought because you loved the fabric but it just hasn’t found its “home” yet?  Having a starting point can lend direction on to the entire theme of the room.  Try reframing and matting a print for a new look.  A spare mirror enhances every room and is easy to decorate a wall without much else.  Scouring through items that you already have or no longer used in other rooms will help furnish an office without any additional money being spent at all.

2. Paint!

Always one of the cheapest and easiest ways to transform anything is with paint: a room, a piece of furniture, or fixtures that are an outdated color.  Ask your local hardware store if they have a clearance paint section.  You can find a gallon, sometimes more than one, or sample paint for accents, on major discount.  If you have an extra table that is a great size, but isn’t in the greatest condition, remember that sanding and painting could bring a whole new life to used furniture.  If you are unsure about whether or not you can paint something or how to paint it, there are numerous how-to articles available online about painting different types of materials to guide you.

3. Buy (Gently) Used Furniture

From the furniture to the rugs to the equipment, you can find slightly used items online as well as in secondhand stores.  Buying pre-loved furniture can especially help with the budget your business has.  Besides electronics, furniture is the next biggest expense in an office’s budget, so why not reduce that by checking out the reputable places that sale items used?  Always remember to check consumer reviews where applicable.  Used office furniture stores often have other items and supplies that are gently used as well to help furnish your office.

4. Plan Plan Plan

Before any purchases are made, assess what you need from your office.  Will you have clients come to your office to visit?  Will you be the only one working from there?  These are questions that need to be answered in order for you to know how much to spend on hardware but also how much seating you will need.  If you are going to meet all your clients in your office, then a conference table may be needed, but if you don’t plan on meeting any clients at your office because it’s in your home, then a desk and chair may be the only furniture you really need.  Also know the measurements of walls and the layout of the room when going to buy furniture – bring a tape measure along with you!

You don’t need millions or thousands of dollars to furnish your home office or small business to make it both purposeful and stylish.  Always remember to look beyond what’s on the outside and see what a room, a piece of furniture or a pretty picture has potential to become.

This article was written exclusively for MyCorporation by Office Pro’s, a leader in used furniture in Atlanta, GA supplying new and used office furniture to small businesses and large corporations all over the Southeast.