What's in a cabinet? In a home office, practically everything. Many home offices are small and are tucked into corners of other rooms, such as the kitchen. Apart from the desk and chair, a cabinet is the most important part of a home office, and in some cases it is the only thing that identifies the area as a home office.

What can a home office cabinet do?
• A home office cabinet can hold your books. You can put shelves inside your home office cabinet if you need a lot of books.
• A home office cabinet can hold your files. You can put file boxes or deep drawers in your home office cabinet. You can also use the cabinet to hold boxes that lock, or fireproof boxes, for private or important documents.
• A home office cabinet can store your office supplies. You can stack boxes of office supplies on the lower shelves of your home office cabinet.
• A home office cabinet can hold your office equipment, such as a printer or a fax machine.
• A home office cabinet can help the look of your home office harmonize with the decor of the surrounding room, or with the decor of the rest of the house.

What should I look for in a home office cabinet?
• A home office cabinet should be sturdy. Piles of paper, stacks of books, and boxes of office supplies can get pretty heavy. If you're using your home office cabinet to hold pieces of office equipment, such as a fax machine, your cabinet has to be sturdy.
• A home office cabinet doesn't have to be fireproof if you're storing mainly office supplies, but you might want to put a fireproof box inside for documents.
• A home office cabinet with locks is a good idea if you're using it to store private files.
• A home office cabinet that looks good and fits in with the decor of your room, or the decor of the rest of the house, is a great investment. If the time comes that you don't need a home office anymore, you can move the cabinet to another room, to fill another purpose.

Remember, a home office cabinet is one of the most important components of a home office. Choosing well can help make your home office a great place to work.