The Pro's Homework-Featured in Living on the Lake Magazine

LIVING ON THE LAKE-September 2007 The Pro's Homework-Offices that Work at Home

by Laura Dritlein photography by Carla Seward

With more and more people bringing work home, working from home or working at home, the home office has become standard in many new and existing homes. "Most homes have studios or dens," says Jim Siepmann of Siepmann Development in Pewaukee. "Every home needs that one space to do paperwork. It is an important feature." In September 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 20.7 million people usually did some work at home as part of their primary job, and that these workers, who reported working at home at least once per week, accounted for about 15 percent of total nonagricultural employment in May 2004. According to the report, almost 30 percent of workers in management, professional and related occupations reported working at home. On average, those with a formal arrangement to be paid for their work time at home logged about 19 hours per week at home. About one-third of the people who reported working from home were self-employed. While kids or young adults might need plenty of workspace to sprawl out on to do homework, adults bringing work home might call for less workspace, but more storage for important documents. The occasional user needs this space to pay and organize monthly bills. A full-time user will need all the amenities of the modern office.

DOING HOMEWORK

To Rob Cowan of Mequon, president of Badger Alloys, the biggest benefit of his home office is that he has his own space. The Cowans knew they were going to remodel when they purchased their home. Cowan brings work home in the evenings and on weekends. His first home office was in the living room. Putting an addition on added space above the garage, which has become his new, more private, home office. The office design encompasses the Prairie style of the rest of the house with cherry wood, three-panel wooden cabinets and French doors. Dormers above the garage provide light and a view. "I call it the man's room," says Cowen, because of the plasma screen on the wall, a home theater system and comfortable couch. "It doesn't look like an office."

The office equipment is hidden, and files are stored in an adjacent storage room. An exercise bike and sports memorabilia are stored in one corner of the space, which was recently completed by Bartelt. The Remodeling Resource of Menomonee Falls.

Mike Skemp of Brookfield, owner of P.A. Staffing, spends most of his week at his home office, a converted living room completed by Bartelt. The Remodeling Resource about three years ago. "I needed a place of my own," says Skemp, who divides his time among the corporate office and 14 regional offices and found he was "hauling stuff back and forth." His home office is now his base of operation, with online access to the office system. The office equipment and office-related material are screened by a U-shaped desk with plenty of workspace, bookcases and cabinetry. "When people walk in, they don't say, "Oh, you work out of the home," says Skemp. While the office is in a separate room, the traditional style matches the rest of the house with darker cherry woodwork, paneling, ceiling beams, stately fireplace, lighting and decor.

HIGH-TECH DECOR

Often the designated home office space is loaded with technology, Gary Chada, architectural designer and project coordinator with Bartelt. The Remodeling, says "The home office is for your leisure. Create an atmosphere that makes you want to be there, including wireless and Internet access. Portable devices like the BlackBerry and, more recently, the introduction of the iPhone, let us run our households and businesses out of our pockets from virtually anywhere. As mobile as these devices let us be, there is still, more often than not, an office somewhere needed to support them," says Gary Chada, architectural designer and project coordinator with Bartelt. The Remodeling Resouce.

"Flat-panel monitors, a cordless mouse and keyboard are great ways to reduce congestion on the top of your desk. The convenience of a wireless network can free you from your desk altogether. As long the router can be plugged into a network connection to receive and send information, you can basically hide it anywhere; just make sure to secure your wireless network with a password to keep out unwanted hitchhikers," says Chada. Chada suggests integrating network cables in walls and floors to allow printers to be located in remote locations. This also allows flexibility within the space to reorganize the office equipment to add additional workstations. "Even if your office isn't paper free, you can make it look like it is," says Chada. Home-office devices are making their way off countertops and tables and into custom-built cabinets with pull-out shelves and retractable doors, and the usual web of cords can be confined to inside the cabinet.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

"Unlike a kitchen, which is typically a social focal point and an embellishment of the home's consistent style and characteristics, the office is much more private and personalized," says Chada. "I find clients looking for a hybrid design that retains some of the traditional aspects of the home and streamlines with a much more contemporary aesthetic." Like Cowan and Skemp, homeowners often look to a home office as a refuge.

"This space is for your enjoyment and leisure," Chada adds. "Create an atmosphere that makes you want to be there. The space should be interesting to invoke thought. Maybe there is a unique painting or piece of sculpture in the room. Daylight is always pleasant.

A window not only offers natural light into the space but also lends itself the opportunity to gaze out, as well."

While working at home is a growing trend, a well-designed home office can make the work a more pleasant and productive experience.