Building a home involves lots of decisions. Let’s stress the word lots. And let’s also raise a tumbler of 15-year-old Redbreast to all of you who have had the “pleasure” of doing so.

Heck, let’s cheer with the whole bottle. You deserve a gold-plated medal and a lengthy trip to Bora Bora. If those aren’t currently in the forecast, then at the very least we grant you bragging rights from now until eternity.

We understand why kudos are well-warranted. Currently, Balaklava’s Show Home outside the hamlet of Holstein is mid-construction. So far, we’ve watched a field of last year’s corn morph into something very different.

What does a Model House mean to you, one of Balaklava’s faithful followers?

The purpose of a Show Home

Let’s play a very quick game of Associations. 

I’ll mention a term, and you shout out what first comes to mind. If you’re in public, feel free to whisper or say it purely in your head. Here we go.

Scenes.

Did you think of movies?  Or perhaps Broadway, with its ability to turn a plain stage into a story habitat? You could’ve also mentioned home automation or Balaklava.

Photo by Afshin T2Y on Unsplash

Working from home has many advantages. Fewer stops at Esso, less distracting chats over the water cooler, and the ability to chuck a load of laundry into the washer during your lunch break.

One of the downsides? You need to properly outfit your space with quality furniture, lighting, and network needs. Here are five things to consider when designing the perfect remote working space.

1. Lighting—Your eyes will thank you

You probably recall from Balaklava’s last blog called “How Improper Lighting Is Affecting Your Health in Ways You Didn’t Even Realize” that appropriate illumination is essential for good health. It’s also critical when it comes to creating optimal working conditions. Functional lighting means increased focus, fewer headaches, and increased productivity.

Care to guess what the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) claims are the most common workplace lighting issues?

•  Insufficient or poorly distributed lighting. Do you find yourself squinting or suffering from dry eyes?
• Glare. If you need a set of office aviators to get the job done, there’s a problem.
•  Improper contrast. Your work area should be brighter than the surrounding office areas.
• Flicker. Loose bulbs, overloaded circuits, old wiring or incompatible dimmer switches can cause irritating flashes. You want to avoid this—unless you’re aiming for the Studio 54 vibe, of course.

2. A stable network—Your patience will thank you

When it comes to your network, your business needs reliability and uninterrupted connectivity. No one wants their network buffering just as you’re about to present year-end figures or Zoom with a key client. Bufferbloat (say that fast ten times) is not as fun as it sounds. Rather, it’s what happens when software spikes during uploads or downloads. Balaklava can help ensure that the dreaded Bufferbloat doesn’t happen in your home office space.

One of Balaklava Tech Center's meeting rooms.

During the pandemic, most of us learned how to use Zoom. We made calls to grandma and long-lost pals and, of course, we used it for work. Despite “Zoom fatigue”—and seeing too many coworkers without pants—we all seemed to have survived.

For many, conference calls were more of a staple than the toilet paper we couldn’t seem to get our hands on. And they continue to remain a significant part of your workday. Microsoft’s statistics maintain that in the few years since 2020, the number of work meetings has tripled.

The power of video conferencing is undeniable. These video call platforms save time. They cut costs—think of no longer having to drive two hours out of town for a half-hour consultation or avoiding the need to fly staff from around the globe to one location. And virtual meetings will undoubtedly “increase in demand as hybrid, remote, and global work expand”.

You use them. But do you know how they work?

From a tech point of view, a one-to-one conference call is a relatively simple process.  Add in more than one recipient, however, and the level of difficulty goes way up. Real-time communication and collaboration mean that software applications and coding are necessary. This is a much more complex situation that requires in-depth knowledge, skill, and expertise.

Balaklava is Here for All of Your Commercial Audio/Video and Networking Needs

Running a business can be stressful. Managing employees and client expectations, ordering products, and customer service are all top-of-mind for owners and managers. To keep a bit of the stress at bay, it’s important to enlist the help of other professionals where you can, and that’s where Balaklava comes in – we’re a full-service automation and AV company that assists with audio/video, networking, IT, and more! 

Keep reading below to learn how we can help you maintain your technology needs so you can focus on everything else related to your business in Waterloo, Ontario.