Home office

As global headquarters for my burgeoning world-conquering business (yeah, sure), my home office had to be spectacular. While most any space in a typical house can be adapted to serve as a basic office, for me the criteria were proximity to an exterior door, relative privacy, space for occasional sitting clients and an efficient computer layout (criteria which are actually quite universal for any viable home-based, computer-dependent business).



The original living room was perfect for a makeover. It's right off the front door. It's an otherwise static 12 by 16 foot box that gets little use. The new bow window improved it dramatically. Gleaming morning sun, though controlled by the Pella slimshades, meant the computer displays had to face perpendicular. It was the only absolute. Besides that, the entire room design was a balance of flexibility, feasibility and fantastic features.

My needs also included a side layout (conference) table, lots of deep desktops (for large drawing sheets) and plenty of bookshelves. Mindful of the potential for a change in room function, I designed semi-modular components. They would simply be furniture pieces. In fact, I scaled back my original plans and went with simple same-height work surfaces all around (instead of lowering the printer table, for example). The built-in wall shelves can hopefully serve as general storage at some point in the future when I'm gone.

Next, raising the flat ceiling to a nice volume.