| No longer are the days of the cramped quarters, | | | | of art, educational achievements and family |
| make shift desks or working at the kitchen table | | | | photos. |
| acceptable for home offices. Home offices are | | | | With continued advances in technology, every |
| now well planned integral parts of the design and | | | | effort should be made to accommodate present |
| remodeling process. | | | | day structured wiring. This will allow for the |
| With busy lifestyles & tele-commuting becoming | | | | most flexibility and expansion possible in the |
| more prevalent, home offices have almost | | | | future. |
| blossomed into a necessity. They have become | | | | Faxes, printers, pdas and blackberrys have all |
| as adaptable as kitchens to a families lifestyle. | | | | become a necessity to today's home offices. |
| Choosing Location a Priority | | | | The ability to integrate and synchronize multi |
| Privacy, functionality and versatility play a large | | | | devices has become a great organizing tool for |
| role in the location. The space must also afford | | | | many without a support staff. |
| the user design freedom to create the best | | | | Combining Maximum Organization with Beauty |
| working atmosphere. | | | | Organization of the space itself should not be |
| This is such a personal choice as everyone works | | | | limited to some generic metal file drawers and |
| and organizes differently. Much time should be | | | | boring bookcases. Custom layouts including wood |
| spent on the personal side of this space. | | | | front multi-functional file drawers as well as |
| Moms; The Exception | | | | cabinetry designed to hide equipment and maybe |
| One exception to the separation of the home | | | | even a refrigerator should be considered. |
| office is for that of the working stay at home | | | | Faxes and copiers are easily stored on roll out |
| mom. In many instances, newborns and small | | | | shelves within the cabinets for an uncluttered |
| children not quite ready for school have to be | | | | look. Multiple workstations setup for computers |
| watched as mom works. | | | | and adequate writing surfaces are a necessity. |
| This type of office can also be introduced into a | | | | Design Style & You |
| remodeling project. It takes a little more | | | | It is easy to introduce ones personal touch and |
| creativity, but it can be done. | | | | design preferences into a home office. |
| A few popular areas are within the kitchen, | | | | Independent from the rest of the home, the |
| bedroom or family room. This type of home | | | | users' personality should sing out giving more |
| office does present problems though. The | | | | desire to use the space. |
| obvious being that it is very difficult to separate | | | | A preference to design style and colors of the |
| work and home activities. | | | | user should not be driven by the overall house |
| That said, the alternative to working outside the | | | | decor and style. |
| home and having children go off to day care is | | | | Questions to Get you Started |
| just not that appealing a choice for many moms. | | | | Consider the answers to the following questions |
| Technology and Lighting | | | | before designing your space. |
| Lighting and technology will also play a significant | | | | 1. Who will be the main user?2. Is the |
| role in the final design. The lighting package | | | | user(s)left or right handed? Note: If this space is a |
| should consist of several different types including | | | | multi-user office and space is limited this could |
| natural light if at all possible. | | | | dramatically affect the layout.3. How much |
| Nothing can hurt the appeal to use a home office | | | | space does each user require?4. What are each |
| more than improper lighting creating a dungeon | | | | users privacy required?5. What equipment will be |
| affect. | | | | required for each user? |
| The space should have general lighting as well as | | | | The answers to these will help you with some of |
| task specific and accent lighting. The accent | | | | the key decisions before you get started. |
| lighting can be used to show off favorite works | | | | |