Top 5 Homes of the Week With Handy Home Offices

Featured homes were submitted by members of the Dwell community through our Add a Home feature. Add your home to dwell.com/homes today.

1. 19th Street Residence

Architect: Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, Location: Santa Monica, California

From the architect: "He wanted a great yard, she wanted a great room. They both desired a home with a strong beating heart for themselves and their two teenage children. This modern family practices togetherness, not hanging out in separate rooms. The architects’ assignment was to design an appealing centralized habitat for all members of the household to use and enjoy."

2. Inwood Place

Architect: Tim Cuppett Architects, Location: Austin, Texas

From the architect: "When midcentury enthusiasts purchased the original 1,800-square-foot home, it had long been forgotten about and was nearly reclaimed by the native vegetation of an adjacent creek. The existing house, crammed against the far property line, was dwarfed by an apartment complex visible to the rear. Low ceilings and deep overhangs made for a relentlessly dark interior, further diminishing what little appeal remained of the property. The existing house was gutted and reconfigured. In doing so, the cul-de-sac on which the home sits is partially restored to its midcentury roots." 

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3. The Studio

Architect: FORWARD Design | Architecture, Location: Prairie Village, Kansas

From the architect: "This project entailed the design and build out of a 120-square-foot backyard studio space to house the essentials of the design studio. This small space was shaped to include room for two employees, small meetings, copy printing, storage, and shelving for the extensive firm library. The intent of the project was to produce a low-cost alternative to a long-term lease for the start-up design studio."

4. Backyard Office + Workshop

Architect: Studio Zerbey Architecture & Design, Location: Seattle, Washington

From the architect: "This design is for the conversion of an existing detached garage and carport. It includes a small addition in front of the carport (the only area where the land use code allows us to expand the structure), a roof tear-off, and re-framing above the existing foundation. A taller roof over the garage portion allows for additional storage. The adjacent space (formerly a carport) could be used for a home office, workshop or craft area. The interior is finished with durable and economical materials that work for many different uses. Careful placement of windows and skylights allow for ample natural light while maintaining flexibility in how the space can be laid out. The design goals for this project are to create two highly efficient spaces from an existing structure while also working within a modest budget."

5. Copper House

Architect: Charles Rose Architects, Location: Belmont, Massachusetts

From the architect: "Charles Rose Architects rarely work on renovations. In this case, the original house was a Colonial box with vinyl siding; it was poorly sited, and a garage cut it off from a spacious yard. Yet it had charm: cozy rooms, a downstairs bedroom suite, and ample usable space. The project called for, in essence, adding a house to the existing house, and the complexity and challenge proved too hard to resist." 

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