Once upon a time, BC (Before Covid19), home offices were “add-ons” or afterthoughts, something extra you could do when building a home and curating your interior space. Entering 2021, returning to a regular 9-5 in-office working schedule feels like a futuristic novelty or a nostalgic relic of the distant past. We’re all facing a new reality with one common goal: to keep our families, our homes, and our communities safe. Like it or not, working from home is the new normal.

New Year, New Home!  Several of our floorplans include office spaces or feature bonus rooms that can easily be used as a home office. Not a formal dining room type of person?  Converting dining rooms into home offices is definitely on-trend.  When building from the ground up, make sure to plan for your home office. Pay great attention to your electrical plan when reviewing with your New Home Specialist - prevent the clutter from precariously placed extension cords by optimizing your outlets at the start. At times, there is no greater relief than shutting ourselves in an office, separated from everything outside to plug-in to the mainframe and focus. Connect with one of our New Home Specialists, who can help you decide which floorplan is perfect for your work-from-home needs.

Our homes are sacred spaces; introducing work into these spaces can feel uncomfortable if you aren’t prepared for it. Here, we’re sharing a few tips to keep in mind when re-adjusting your home to accommodate your working needs. Let’s face it, our bosses are bound to be forcibly introduced to our children and pets, who don’t always have the best, “Zoom” manners. 

Save Your Spine

It’s no secret: our backs are not built for sitting in a chair eight hours a day. Combine that with the surprise of having to make an office space out of your dining room chairs and table, and you have a recipe for postural disaster! 

Prevent the inevitable inquiries to Doctor Google - invest in a real office chair for your home space. Try to find a seat sporting decent lumbar support. Your back, and your primary care physician, will thank you. 

Prioritize Privacy

Pets appearing in-frame on your video conference is undoubtedly adorable, but you can’t always give Fluffy your full undivided attention - the time for tug o’ war isn’t during your sales pitch to a new client. Likewise, you need a space away from the kids, your partner, or roommates to focus on work. If you don’t have a whole room to dedicate as a home office, a strategic rearrangement of furniture will do the trick!

Let there be LIGHT!

The scientific benefits of utilizing natural light are as abundant as they are effective. Working from home provides us all with the opportunity to kiss fluorescents goodbye, instead opting for soft naturals and aesthetically pleasing fixtures. Natural light reduces eye strain and headaches, improves our mood and sleep cycles, and - your boss will like this one - increases productivity!

As a bonus, you can fill your home office space with as many plants as your heart desires when you take advantage of natural lighting! (Our current obsessions include monsteras and calatheas - healthy plants in your background are an impressive flex for your weekly team meetings online.)

Flaunt Your Flair

Even though the goal is to mimic the environment of an in-person workplace, keep in mind that ultimately, this is still your home. Don’t be afraid to display some of your personality! Like Jennifer Anniston’s boss in the thematically appropriate 1999 film Office Space, you want to express yourself with pieces of flair. Just keep it work appropriate - if you wouldn’t want your grandma to see certain items in the background of virtual family game night, you probably wouldn’t want your boss to catch a glimpse either.

We’re all adjusting to the new normal in our own ways - let us help ease the load. Get in touch with us to see how to make your home office dreams a reality!