With many women choosing to launch their own home-based businesses and take the reins of their employment futures firmly in their own hands, home offices are quickly becoming both a necessity and a refuge.

Keeping your work zone comfortable, yet practical and chic, is the key to successfully creating an office that can help you reach your goals. However, as most home offices need to fulfill several functions – like guest bedroom or the space you store your girlfriend’s family heirlooms – interior real estate is usually at a premium, and knowing how to effectively lay out your room is key. Here are a few tips:

Stay Focused – it’s important to keep visual clutter to a minimum. Choose inexpensive storage boxes in one color for all of your magazines, receipts and office supplies. These can be displayed on your desk or shelving keeping needed papers at the ready while giving you easy clean up at the end of your tasks.

Make it Personal – take advantage of creating a work environment that’s designed just for you by keeping objects and art that you enjoy close at hand. Look, you can’t keep your head buried in your desk all day, so surround yourself with photographs and mementos that make you smile when you come up for air. If you’re sharing the space with your partner, ask her to incorporate meaningful pieces to harmonize your individual tastes.

Dim the Lights – run, don’t walk to your local hardware store and buy a dimmer. Good lighting is essential in an office and making sure you can control the brightness is key when transitioning from day to evening. Skip the fluorescents, and get halogen bulbs; they more closely mimic natural light giving you and your office a prettier glow. Better yet, for a sexier office try amber bulbs - instant glam!

Let the Utilitarian Function as Art – a custom frame around a large-scale bulletin board keeps the look functional, yet polished. Try magnetic boards, or even dry erase versions, so you can change your display as often as you change your mind.

Go for Color – choose an inspired wall color to increase your productivity. Studies show that women feel depressed in offices painted white, beige or gray, so stick to hues that turn up the energy volume. Greens and yellows, along with rich purples and reds, both invigorate the mind and increase imagination and focus. Try painting just one wall a revved-up shade as a focal point, or take that color even higher and paint the ceiling.

Do Double Duty – if your office also serves as the guest/media/ironing/time-out room, choose furniture that serves two purposes. Smaller scale sofas that double as sleepers, or futon-style chairs that unfold, offer you a place to sit and catch up on reference reading by day and offer your unexpected visitor a place to crash. Look for smaller-sized pieces - known as “condo” scale furniture - that allows you more options for a floor plan that suits your needs.

Go Into the Closet – if space is really limited, annex your closet as a cozy office niche. Remove the doors, slide in a stylish desk, install simple shelving in place of the clothing rod, and voila! For even tighter spaces, many furniture sellers are producing freestanding armoires that transform into a workstation with storage – just add a comfy desk chair!

So, before you go back to that card table you call a home office, take some A-list design inspiration and create yourself a comfortable and beautiful space to build your empire.