Your Healthy Home Office Guide

Clean, green and comfortable is the mantra for a physically healthy office says Pamela Brunderman, president of Organized for Life, an interior design and professional organizing firm in White Plains, N.Y. Here are eight tips for tackling an unhealthy workspace.

Papers, wires — and all that technology — can make any office a mess in a hurry. All-in-one equipment like a fax/printer/scanner/copier can save space and make the room look less like a technology superstore; clips and ties can wrangle all those wires into place. Then it's time to think storage. "Most home offices lack filing space," Brunderman says. "The first step is to get the papers off the desk and floor and put away." Filing drawers and shelves can be built in, as in this home office designed by Andrea Keller, or freestanding. Keller's streamlined solution is traditional, but the organization world is awash with a variety of options.

Once your surfaces are cleared off, you can scrub those grimy spots like the keyboard, phone and mouse. Need some motivation? A recent survey says the average desk harbors 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat. Protect yourself from harmful chemicals with a natural cleaner such as those made by Seventh Generation or Melaleuca.

Dull air can make you feel sluggish even in the cooler months. A ceiling fan or small portable desktop fan is the perfect pep squad to help you get that project finished. Decorate with a low-allergy plant for color, texture and an extra ration of oxygen — spider plants, bamboo palm and peace lily are perfect natural air filters, and bring life into the room, such as designer Pat Emery did in this masculine office.

Now take a look at your desk, chair and other accessories. Are they comfortable and ergonomically correct? Your chair should have good back support, Mihaly, the feng shui expert says, and should be adjustable so you can sit at the proper height to your keyboard (and it doesn't hurt if it's in a cheerful color, as shown in this office designed by Elizabeth Brownrigg). An adjustable height computer workstation, such as those from Relax the Back (www.relaxtheback.com), lets you to sit or stand while pounding away at the keyboard. If you're always on the phone, save your neck with a good headset.

How well you perform in the office may be all in your head — or maybe not. Increase your productivity and creativity by incorporating feng shui principles into your furniture arrangement. "The basic goal of every office is to make money, so you want to bring in prosperity energy," Mihaly says.

Start by rearranging: move your desk to the command position, which is in the corner opposite the door, Mihaly says. Symbolically, this position ensures you won't receive any surprises in business; realistically it means the dog and kids can't sneak up on you unawares. A desk that can be accessed from either side, like the one in this punchy home office designed by Shelly Riehl David and photographed by Roy Quesada, signals flexibility. Or how about a trickling water fountain? The sound is not only calming, it signifies cash flow coming into the room.

Good lighting is another office essential, whether it's from light pouring through the window as in this office designed by Jackie Glisson, or from manufactured sources. "I love a lot of natural light in the office," says Kimberly Rosenberg Rider, owner of atmosphera in San Rafael, Calif., and an expert designer on HGTV.com, "but it's not always available. Use full-spectrum bulbs wherever you can, since they emulate natural light and encourage productivity."

Just because your office is a place of work doesn't make Dilbert Gray the required color. "A home office should blend with the existing architecture of your home," designer Rider says, and fit the mood you'd like to create at work. Romance and softness are key in this office designed by Shelly Riehl David. Draperies of multiple sheer overlays on hand-forged iron rod with orange ribbon and tassel fringe, an imported Italian upholstered chair, antique desk and soft robin egg's blue on the walls to complete the look.

If you want to maximize productivity, pick an energizing color such as a shade of red. Need calm? Choose a sea blue. Use a low-VOC paint, such as BioShield or Sherwin-Williams Harmony, for the walls, which emits fewer low-level toxic emissions into your home than regular paint.

If there's room, an easy chair will provide a change of scenery when you don't need to be at the computer. In a home office designed by Jean Allen Christian, a classic Eames chair was newly upholstered in green, yellow and black partly shaved cowhide — just waiting for you to plop down in it and read your mail.

Gretchen Roberts spends her days writing in a healthy home office in Knoxville, Tenn. She has written for Better Homes & Gardens, Cooking Light and Health magazine, among others.