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At The Wall Street Journal, Emily Nonko examines the different ways Americans are utilizing the space in their houses to create home offices. She writes:
If a homeowner is considering renovations, identify underused space and get creative with it. Curtis Popp, founder of CPOPP WORKSHOP, carved an office out of a large coat closet in a one-bedroom, 800-square-foot condo in San Francisco. He lined the back wall with custom open shelving and kept the closet door attached. “In a small space you want to close the door, turn work off and go make a Manhattan,” Mr. Popp says.
Architect Ben Herzog often works with tight New York City homes. In a townhouse in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, he took advantage of a wide “in between” area in the kitchen and dining room area to install a floor-to-ceiling desk and storage unit. Magnetic paint added to the adjacent wall offers an interactive element for the client’s children.
Real-estate agents are also getting creative, staging would-be second bedrooms or nurseries as home offices.
“Before Covid, calling something a home office was kind of a throwaway,” says Compass agent Michael J. Franco. “Now I will go out of my way to find any excuse to include the phrase ‘home office’ and show people how they can be created on the floor plan.”
Grid Group Development has launched sales at 145 Central Park North in Manhattan, and is letting buyers work with the building’s architects, GLUCK+, to create home offices in their apartments. The 37-unit building will open for occupancy in early 2021.
