Tips for At Home Work Spaces
The pandemic changed many things about we used our interior spaces but nothing was so affected as the home office. Suddenly everyone needed a dedicated work area. During 2020 and 2021, our firm had several E-90min consults, the majority of which were about adding an office in a home with no space for an office.
Post-pandemic, we still get asked how to make a functional home office. How and where to squeeze in a desk, how to have a nice background for virtual calls. These are still questions on people's minds as we work from home more and more.
One of the first questions we ask when helping a client design a home office space is what is the level of privacy needed. Are there HIPAA considerations? Will you be on phone or virtual calls? Do you need to have a space away from the noise of the rest of the household? Basically, do you need (and note the use of the word, need) a door?
If possible, we recommend moving your workstation out of the bedroom. Your bedroom should be the most sanctuary of sanctuary spaces in your house- a spot for you to totally unwind and reset from the stresses (including work stresses) of the day. However, if reality states that the your bedroom is the only location available, a combo nightstand/desk like the image above from the home of the owners of Pencil & Paper Co., is a fantastic solution. Avoid, if you can, having your bed in your camera view.
Another question we ask our clients is to evaluate your comfort level in terms of what we like to call defensible spaces. Do you feel better if your back is to a wall? Do you feel most productive if you have access to a view out of a window? Or is the view distracting? Do you need to sit facing a doorway? Have you never thought about any of these things and don't care at all in the slightest? No wrong answers here!
To demonstrate, here's an example of two different layouts we recently designed for a home office:
The home office has its entrance on the bottom left, an existing closet beside it and a large picture window. In the first option, the desk is facing into the room. There's total security about seeing who is coming into the room (no getting startled!) and a custom built-in along the window is a charming spot for both storage and seating. In the second option, the desk is facing the wall. Much easier for cord management and still allowing for views out the window, it offers a clean look complete with a large comfy sofa for end of day relaxing.
Neither of these options are 'correct.' It's entirely dependent on who is using the room and how they feel in the space. Annie & Ryan have lots of debates on this: Ryan feels fine with her back to a door like the second option. She'd pick that one as cords are her worst enemy. Annie would pick the first option as she feels and thus works best in an environment where she can see everything in front of her.
But where should your office be in your home?
Some older homes in Portland have small sitting areas attached to either living rooms or primary bedrooms that turn into efficient offices. Obviously these are more generous sized homes but the principal stands: shop what you have. Is there an area whose use could be reevaluated? Have you gotten so used to the playroom being the playroom that you haven't considered it evolving into something else?
A desk doesn't need a ton of space. In our NE Mason Residence below, the existing living room was re-designed and divided into two spaces. One is a large comfy family room with a comfy sofa, built-ins and TV and the other is a small, narrow room, easily closed off with pocket doors. Our clients currently use this space as a home office but it could easily be transformed into a walk-in closet for entry storage.
During the renovation, an exterior window was added in the small office, making all the difference for the quality of life working in that space. For sound absorption, felt wall panels were both behind and next to the desk area to help with phone calls, virtual meetings, etc.
Often we see clients wish to combine their guest room with a home office. We urge some caution with this idea. Do you have a backup plan for where you will work when guests are in town? Do you need your second or third external monitor or can you work from a coffee shop on a laptop? How much do you need to remove from your office to give your guests privacy? No one wants to interrupt Grandma's nap to grab notes or a pen or a charger out of a desk drawer. Where will all of those items live while you have guests staying in the room?
If you need a designated work space but are not necessarily needing it to be behind closed doors, we recommend looking in unexpected corners and nooks in your home.
In our Rancho MCM project above, an entry console by a side door also serves as a desk area. The chair could work not only for the desk, but also as a spot to sit and take off your shoes when coming home.
An unused corner of our Mt Tabor Basement project became a perfect spot for a home office. Corners are great areas to look in your home as they are often either empty or have items that can easily be removed like plants or lamps. The Mt Tabor Basement project keeps both a lamp and a plant in the corner by having both relocated to the desk itself. The custom made privacy screens allow for light transfer from the double windows as well as provide a physical barrier between the desk and the rest of the space. That barrier, whether see through or not, helps give the illusion of privacy and thus makes it more conducive for focused work.
Sometimes the architecture of your space helps dictate where an office area should go. In the L-shaped music room of our Cedar Mill Modern house, a work space was custom designed for the small part of the "L". The custom white oak surround, desk top, drawer and cubbies were built into the space, giving it intention and the feeling that it was always meant to be there. Wallpaper by Kate Blairstone and the Allegheny sconce from Schoolhouse are the cherries on top.
To summarize, determine what you need (and remember to use the word need, rather than want) and then think outside the box. Get creative, get a little weird even, and evaluate what allows your mind and body to be at its most focused self.
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