Home Offices Allow for Comfort, Productivity

Those who dream of working in their pajamas from the comfort of their own homes may have also fantasized about their perfect home office, imagining the desk, lighting, shelves and personal touches that would create a comfortable den for maximum productivity.

If you’re able to work from home in Costa Rica, creating your dream home office is absolutely possible. Several stores in the San José area offer a variety of furniture and accessories to choose from, and their experts can help you make the most of your space and acquire all the essentials.

A Guatemala-based company, Innovación has been working around Central America for 15 years; Costa Rica’s Innovación store is in Plaza Itskatzú, in the western San José suburb of Escazú. The folks at Innovación have experience outfitting offices for international companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Intel, and they can bring this expertise to your home.

Designers make free consultation house calls to take measurements and discuss options to meet your needs, explained Innovación sales manager María Gabriela Coto.

The store carries several lines of imported furniture, such as Steelcase, from the United States; Valentina, from Italy; and Sokoa, from France.

All furniture is modular, meaning it can be moved around and arranged in a variety of ways, Coto said. For example, Innovación’s smooth, sturdy, wooden desks can be arranged in L, T or U shapes to accommodate computers and printers and allow lots of space for work materials. Bookcases can be stacked on top of drawers or stand alone.

The store’s showroom displays inviting leather chairs for a waiting area or corner niche of the office, and a full line of ergonomically sound desk chairs is available in different materials and styles.

Innovación keeps many items in stock and has a catalog from which others can be specially ordered. Delivery can be arranged anywhere in the country. For more information, visit www.innovacion.net or call 228-8528.

La Artística stores offer a great selection of everything from furniture and lamps to rugs and other accessories.Most office furniture is imported from Denmark, said marketing director Susan González.

When outfitting a home office, clients must consider their profession and the image they want to convey, González said.

For example, a business president may want an “executive” chair with a tall back, while smaller chairs work better to place around a desk or circular meeting table.

Shelves, drawers and other storage space should also be chosen according to each business’s needs: cabinets with doors that close and lock provide security for confidential documents, while glass-front shelves allow for decorating and create a lighter look.

Additionally, La Artística’s desk hatches, or shelves that sit on top of a desktop, can be custom-made with space to hold CDs, files and other items.

La Artística has three stores in the San José area. The showrooms at the Curridabat store, east of San José, and Pavas store, in western San José, feature a range of accessories, including lamps, rugs and clocks that work well with the furniture on offer. (The San José branch is an outlet store with some discounted items and does not have a fully stocked showroom). For more information, call La Artística at 257-8152.

If you’re looking for a one-stop shop for furniture, accessories and office supplies, the popular U.S. chain Office Depot may be the answer. With locations around the San José area, Office Depot offers a myriad of office supplies, from pens and pencils to computers and furniture. The huge, warehouse-style store offers a wide selection of just about anything your office could possibly need. You can go to one of Office Depot’s stores to check out the office furniture available or visit the company’s Web site, www.officedepot.co.cr, where orders can be placed online. Desks in a variety of styles and colors can be mixed and matched with chairs and shelves to suit your tastes. Smaller, round tables and coffee tables for reception and meeting areas also come in various styles.

Additionally, Office Depot carries an ample selection of computers, phones, fax machines, scanners and software. The store has four locations in the San José area: in the eastern suburb of San Pedro; in Escazú; in Heredia, north of San José; and in the northwestern La Uruca district. Visit www.officedepot.co.cr or call 234-9890 for more information.