In a recent survey, the International Home Furnishings and Design Association polled their 2000 members (designers, manufacturers, distributors, marketers, etc.) what they see as trends for the homes of the future. The survey results mentioned the home office three times out of ten trends.
“Nearly 40% of IFDA members expect houses to accommodate more than one home office.” This expectation is set in the context of a trend noted by the National Association of Home Builders: the average house will be 300 square feet smaller by 2015.
This living room and home office is neither fish nor fowl.
How do you put two home offices into a smaller space? IFDA members envision home offices in multipurpose rooms and master bedrooms. Combine home offices with study areas and entertainment rooms. Or set up master bedrooms with a home office, exercise space and media viewing – without increasing its size.
If your home office is for visiting friends on Facebook and paying bills online – a computer in a multipurpose room is fine. But if you are running a business or doing focused work at home this set-up is a recipe for disaster.
Before I wrote The Smarter Home Office: 8 simple steps to increase your income, inspiration and comfort , I surveyed over 300 people who worked at home. About half of them reported family distractions were a major problem. (The other half stated isolation was a significant issue.)
Can you picture yourself trying to work in the multi-purpose room when the kids come home from school? Or being productive in the evening while your spouse wants to relax with TV, and you have a project to complete on deadline? Few of us lead the kind of model lives that fit into model rooms.
And don’t get me started about multi-purpose master bedrooms. Not only is your computer sitting there saying “Work! Work!” to your subconscious while you are trying to sleep. But the treadmill will be telling you to do a cardio workout instead of having some down time for yourself. There’s nothing like feeling guilty about things undone while you are trying to relax in your own bedroom. Bedrooms are for relaxation, sleep and intimacy, period!
What do you think of a home office in a multipurpose room? What do you think of working or working-out in your bedroom? Is this a positive trend or a faulty prediction based on misunderstandings of your real needs? Share your comments with us.
Future posts will help you set up a comfortable and efficient workspace when you don’t have a spare room to call your home office, and will discuss the dilemma of those who feel isolated when working at home.
