Why the home office, of course.
When I saw this article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal that called the home office the "second-most used room in many homes," I just had to add my own comments because the description is so true to life. The article goes on to give some designer tips for creating a functional home office.
Here at Work From Home Momma, we've maintained that you don't actually need a separate room designated as the office to start working from home. The kitchen table works fine for some. Others take their laptop with them throughout the house. Their office is where they (and their laptop) are.
I am fortunate that we were able to convert a second eating area, a breakfast nook, into an office for me and my computer. I share the space with my daughters. So, there are two computers in here, a printer, a bookshelf, and two filing cabinets. As you can imagine, it's a packed little room!
As small as this area is, I agree with the Las Vegas Review-Journal that this is likely the second-most used room in my home. In fact, if I'm awake, it's likely that I'm in here. I spend at least eight hours in here most days (although I do try to get out for lunch and I've been known to print out editing and do it manually in the living room).
My daughters are in here a lot too. They research homework assignments, look up the lyrics to their favorite songs, and access their Webkinz, Club Penguin, and Facebook accounts. (In fact, we had a problem recently with them using all of my printer paper to print out song lyrics...)
(Note: The office in the photo is not my office. It's a stock image from stock.xchng. The photo is much larger and neater than my office.)
If our pattern is typical of today's families (and from the Las Vegas Review-Journal article it sounds like it might be), I wonder if it would be practical to design a home with this in mind? I'm picturing a different kind of family room with a nook on one end of the room with multiple computer connections and space for a widescreen TV on the other end of the room.
Of course I'm dreaming...
What about you? Do you have a home office? What's it like?
Leave a comment and let us know.
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