Offices sprung up in homes all over the country during the pandemic, and for those who weren’t in a position to create a separate work space in their home, they made do with converting their kitchen table into a desk, in the hope that they would soon be able to return to the workplace.
If you haven’t yet added an office to your home and would like to, here are 5 key points to give strong consideration to:
- Where your home office should go
Even if you already have a spot in mind for your home office addition, your general contractor may be able to guide you towards a better use of the existing space. Always be openminded when considering a location for your home office, and consider every option your chosen general contractor proposes.
2. Whether it should serve any other purposes
If you want to create a home office solely for this purpose, that is absolutely your right, but you should give careful consideration as to whether it would be beneficial that the space either double up as a different room (such as a guest bedroom), or be able to be converted into one easily in the future. Including a small bathroom in the design can be hugely beneficial, too, and not only for convenience, but in terms of boosting the value of your home and potentially being able to sell it quicker should you need to put it on the market in the future.
3. How it will fulfil your needs
In some instances, all that may be required is a small bump-out somewhere on the ground floor of your home, to create enough space for a desk and chair. However, if you will be spending a lot of time in your home office, and need space for such items as a printer, or will be creating items to sell and using it as your workshop, a full room addition with plenty of workspace and storage may be necessary. Don’t forget that the more usable space you can add to your home, the higher its value will become and the easier it will be to sell in the future.
4. The level of privacy
Some people prefer to work in an office without any distractions or require privacy when conducting sensitive aspects of their job, and hence will want an office addition that can be kept separate from the rest of the home, particularly if they have kids and pets, or both. On the other hand, some homeowners prefer to be immersed in the daily goings on of their household while they work, and might find a home office addition on the ground floor, close to the kitchen or living space, to be ideal for their needs.
5. Planning for growth
If you’re an entrepreneur and plan to grow your business over the months and years, a desk tucked into a corner of a small room addition may not be the most sensible idea. In many instances, it makes sense to have a larger space built on to your home that you can continue to use as your business expands, and you should think carefully about your needs and desires for the future when generating design plans with your chosen general contractor.
Home offices continue to grow in popularity, and while they’re not a new concept, the pandemic saw us needing them in ways we may not have done previously. A clever home office addition can add significant value to your home, and prove very useful, especially if the space can serve a variety of purposes throughout the duration of your stay in the property.