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Choosing the room, setting the desk and lighting the screen, with Germany, France and the Netherlands side by side wherever the rules differ.
Most home offices were
never designed at all.
They accumulated. A desk arrived, then a second screen, then a chair borrowed from the dining table, and at some point it became the room you spend more waking hours in than any other. This guide starts from scratch: which room, the three purchases that decide whether your back hurts, and how to light a screen properly, which almost nobody does.
Real numbers, not taste
Desks to EN 527-1, 740mm high with 650mm of clear knee space. Task light to EN 12464-1, 500 lux on the desk against the 100 to 200 a domestic pendant gives.
The chair before the desk
A desk is a flat surface and almost any will do. The chair is adjustable equipment your spine depends on, so the guide tells you where the money should go, in order.
Three countries where it matters
Garden office permits, who may wire a new circuit, and the home office allowances in Germany, France and the Netherlands, set side by side rather than averaged.
Four tests and a planner
The fifteen minute test, the black screen, the single clap and a thirty second recording, each under a minute, plus a Workspace Planner to fill in before you buy anything.
- 01Before You Choose the RoomSeven checks for every candidate room, why the spare bedroom is often the worst one, and why the window decides more than the floor area.
- 02The Desk, the Chair and the ScreenThe dimensions EN 527-1 actually sets, the chair checklist, and the laptop problem that only a riser and a separate keyboard solve.
- 03Lighting for Screen Work500 lux on the task area to EN 12464-1, the black screen test, and what to buy in order.
- 04Power, Data and Cable DisciplineCounting sockets honestly, wired beats wireless, and who may do the electrical work in each country.
- 05Sound and InterruptionTransmission is not reverberation. The clap test, and why a solid core door is the most effective single purchase.
- 06Storage and the Paperless MythWhat a home office actually holds, the daily reach zone, and the camera rule for the wall behind you.
- 07Heat, Air and the Winter ProblemWhy the spare room is cold, what fixes it for the least money, and the mid-afternoon fog that is really stale air.
- 08The Video CallFour things in order of impact, none of which cost anything, and a background that reads as competence.
- 09Small Spaces and Shared RoomsThe desk in the bedroom, the cupboard office, and two people on calls in one room.
- 10The Garden OfficeWhat you may build without a permit in Germany, France and the Netherlands, and how to specify it for February.
- 11Doing It Yourself, and When Not ToWhat is a weekend and a tape measure, and the five places paying someone is worth it.
- +The Workspace PlannerThe room, the person, the target numbers and the budget on one sheet, plus four one-minute tests and the order of work.
Written for European homes,
not adapted for them.
Desks and lighting follow European standards, so EN 527-1 and EN 12464-1 apply wherever you live. Almost everything else is national. This edition sets Germany, France and the Netherlands side by side on the rules that differ: who may work on the fixed wiring under NAV §13 and DIN VDE 0100, NF C 15-100 or NEN 1010; what a garden office can be without a permit under the German Land codes, the French déclaration préalable thresholds and the Dutch permit-free limits; and the home office allowances in each country's tax system. Prices in euros.
Add to basket using the button at the top of this page. Your download link arrives by email straight after checkout.
What format is it?
A 36-page A4 PDF. Your download link arrives by email straight after checkout, and you can read it on any device or print the planner pages at home.
Which country is it written for?
Germany, France and the Netherlands, set side by side wherever the rules differ: garden office permits, who may do electrical work, and how a home office is treated for tax. The ergonomics, lighting and acoustics apply anywhere, because the European standards behind them are the same everywhere.
I rent, or live in a flat. Does it still apply?
Almost all of it. Quiet desk work is ordinary residential use in all three countries, and the guide names the German Federal Court of Justice decision that says so. Anything touching the building itself, such as new circuits or joinery fixed to the wall, needs the landlord's or the owners' association's agreement first.
Do I need a permit for a garden office?
It depends on where you live, how big it is and whether you heat it. Chapter 10 sets out the permit-free limits for each country and the exceptions that catch people, including listed buildings and protected areas. Check with your Bauamt, mairie or gemeente before you order.
Is this tax or legal advice?
No. Studio Akiva are interior designers. The guide names the home office allowances in each country so you know what to ask, and sends the questions to a tax adviser.
Can I cancel or get a refund?
This is digital content supplied immediately. At the point of purchase you expressly consent to us beginning supply before the end of the withdrawal period and acknowledge that your 14 day right of withdrawal ends once the download link is issued. The full notice is at studioakiva.eu/widerrufsbelehrung. Separately from that: if the link fails, the file will not open, or you received the wrong guide, email hello@studioakiva.com and we will put it right or refund you.
Would you rather we did it?
Studio Akiva is an award-winning interior design studio working across Europe and a twelve-time Houzz award winner. If the room has to do two jobs at once, a bedroom that is also an office or one room shared by two people on calls, that is the conversation we enjoy having. Book a free fifteen-minute discovery call.
