Working from a Home Office has many benefits for a consultant or startup company.  Highest on the list is always the cost savings.  Not only does a home office usually end up commandeering a portion of floor plan that you are already paying for, but it also affords tax refunds on a percentage of home costs if you space is dedicated.  See your tax professional for the exact amount.  Other benefits are a short commute, ability to turn commute time into work time, ability to spread 8 hours (usually 10+ hours) out throughout the day to accommodate non-work tasks, always close by for those "family emergency" and many others that might be specific to your situation.  Most of which are associated to cost savings.

So now that I have earned the right of working in a virtual world and have the "home office of my dreams", is there justification for wanting an office out of the house?  When is the right time to separate from a home office?  How should one test out the theory to see if it is really what I want.

One must consider the first 3 years of an office at home lived up to every expectation.  But after 4 years of working at home and as the kids are both of elementary school age what has happened to the productive master plan?  It is not the lack of ability to stay focused or the kids that need to be removed from the equation but the comfortable interruptions of everyday life that seems to whittle away at my work hours.  The over exaggeration of some of the benefits by those that have become comfortable with me working at home now become detriments.  When the cost savings justification is impacted by lack of productivity does the ROI of a home office become a justification for an office outside of the house?  Looking for clarity the answer might be found with this question:  Where can I find an office that is close and does not break the bank upsetting the small office return on investment?

I have yet to answer all the questions.  If you have comments, please let me know what works for you or if you have experienced the same.  Otherwise, I will start my research and keep you posted on the solutions that I find.