Whether your office is tucked into a corner of your living room, a spare closet or a guestroom, there's no workplace like, well, home.

That's the idea promoted by Paul and Sarah Edwards, a husband-and-wife author team.

The working-from-home couple quit their day jobs - he as a public affairs consultant and she a psychotherapist - and co-wrote "Working From Home" and "Home Based Businesses for Dummies," addressing issues such as productivity and home office space and environments.

Home-based business owners often face the big work question: Can you be productive in your home office environment?

That depends largely on your workplace design according to Patrick Galvin, office-design expert and president of Galvins Business & Home Office Furniture in Redwood City and Berkeley.

Mr. Galvin recommends keeping three important factors in mind when establishing a home office: your work style, you work space the equipment you will need.

"Some work surfaces are adjustable and can be designed specifically for your needs. It all depends on your work style and the type of work you do," he says. He encourages maximizing closets and other parts of a room to plan your work space and determine where the electrical and phone outlets are located.

The light level in the office, Mr. Galvin says, should be similar to the brightness of your computer. "Light sources should be placed perpendicular to your computer monitor, so they won't shine in your eyes or reflect on your screen," he says. "Also, plan to have task lighting for reading and writing in addition to a mixture of artificial and natural lighting in the room."

Marcia Gregory, a self-employed art director in Menlo Park, once described her office as unorganized and lacking a storage area. She needed enough space to accommodate her computer equipment, but did not want her office to look like a cubicle. She went to Galvins.

"The consultants helped me design a comfortable and functional space," she said. "My home office is like a retreat now. I like my space and don't mind being in there."

When it comes to arranging other work equipment, Mr. Galvin uses the airline-cockpit theory.

"The pilot sits in his seat with the most important item: the view of the outside world," he explains. "The essentials instruments and controls are also directly in front of the pilot, arranged around the windows within easy reach." The point, Mr. Galvin says, is to arrange the items you use the most often within easy view or access so you will not have to twist or bend your body while using these items.

This same theory is practiced by authors Paul and Sarah Edwards.

"Our home-office layout works for us because we have separated our work space into zones and follow the 'reach rule' and 'pay or you pay' adage," says Ms. Edwards. The 'reach rule,' she says, is a policy that mandates keeping work supplies within reach; 'pay or pay' means investing now in ergonomically proper furniture else paying later for medical expenses.

Creating a space where you will be productive may be easier for those who have a separate room dedicated solely to an office. But for those not as fortunate, dealing with space is a challenge.

"Avoid having your office in the bedroom," says Steve Strauss, author of the Unofficial Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business. "The more you treat your business as a business, the more motivated you will be."

If space is tight, however, Mr. Strauss, who works at home as a business and legal writer, offers a simple solution:

"At least get dressed for work."