Move the office to the basement?

We wouldn't do that either (aside from the fact that we are not building a basement). Currently, we do have a heated room in the basement, but since my wife works exclusively from home, the office is upstairs and will be upstairs again.

Depends...

I’m also considering relocating the office to the basement (existing building - no planning phase).

Our basement (not purely residential since ceiling height is only 2.20m, but sufficient) is within the building envelope, so insulated and heated. Additionally (sloping site) the room has natural daylight. Mobile reception is also available. Phone (DECT) is also no problem. However, we currently have the phone connection in the existing office – that’s where the FritzBox and network printer are located. And especially the “family printer” should remain on the ground floor. But in general, this wouldn’t be an issue, since it doesn’t really matter if a router and printer would stand in a hopefully future guest room.

Therefore: why not the office in the basement. But: there should be daylight. If mobile reception and phone reception (handset) are available too – why not? And if no Wi-Fi signal reaches, either use a repeater or powerline.

But if you’re still in the planning phase, you can provide the appropriate connection possibilities (network cables). And even mobile reception in the basement is technically solvable without problems.

If the space on the ground floor is used differently... you can set up the office in the basement. However, if it should also be a guest room or fitness room, I would plan for a normal window with a proper light well. However, it will probably be as describes it. I know the situation (office on the upper floor), and we now also have an all-round room on the ground floor, among other things for an office.

Nowadays, you need space in the household for a desktop PC, printer, and lots of file folders. (We have a folder width of 1.90 meters for 2 people) Technology does not exactly look homely in the living area; for other corners, it is usually too much clutter. Papers and invoices can first be put in a drawer on the ground floor and after a month stored in the basement (of course, pay the invoice immediately).

Otherwise, I have a tip—provided the floor plan allows it (usually not feasible in a standard floor plan unless you have a separate room for it):

you can accommodate the office in a (clothes) cupboard about 150 cm wide. Simply remove the clothes rail and install a worktop (from the hardware store) at desk height. Below, you can install a drawer unit for mouse and keyboard—slidable as needed. A multiple socket with a switch supplies power to the devices. Add shelves as needed. In our case, it is an old wardrobe with sliding doors; the other side is filled with seasonal clothing, bags, and games. Our office (where the cupboard stands) thus does not look like an office but like a cozy guest room.

a crafting suggestion from Yvonne

Hello,

we have also placed our combination of office and guest room in the heated basement.

As already mentioned, we also had a light well installed in front of a large double-wing window.

In our opinion, this is more than sufficient for an office (also occasionally used as a home office) and a guest room.

Mobile phone reception is available without technical aids and all other media are also available in the basement via a Homeway socket.

However, it must be taken into account that for a guest room (= sleeping area) in the basement, a second emergency exit (door to the outside or emergency window) must be planned and smoke detectors must also be installed (depending on the federal state).

Regards,

Dirk

I'm currently in the planning phase as well and digging up the thread again.

We are currently considering moving the office to the basement because otherwise it becomes too cramped on the ground floor. At the moment, we have the office planned on the ground floor with 12 m², but with 80 m² everything else gets a bit small. No pantry, kitchen, and living/dining room could also have a few more square meters.
Of course, you could enlarge the ground floor, but then the whole house becomes too big. If we, for example, go up to 85 m² on the ground floor, the total would be 170, which is already too big for us and, of course, also more expensive. Besides, the space on the upper floor is sufficient for us even at 150 m².

On the other hand, the study in the basement is not so great either. Since I work from home quite a lot, it would be much better situated on the ground floor. Additionally, we might want to use the room as a bedroom later.

Do you have any suggestions?

I also work from home now and then – but why do you really need an office, unless you have customer contact or work creatively with paper or constantly have to archive things. I mostly work from the living room (although we have an office).