In the study of this stunning, modern cabin by Murdough Design, corner windows give the home office a tree house feel with views of the lush surrounding canopy and lake.
Located off of the kitchen, Vivi’s office disappears behind sliding walls covered in black chalkboard paint from Behr. This is one of the best home office setup ideas if you're short on space or if you're going for a minimalist look.
Well-placed skylights flood the built-in desk and workstation with natural light. The elegant desk lamp, which Hara calls the Sunset Lamp, has a maple base and bowl-like shade, the latter finished with gold leaf for a warm glow.
The Light Shed ground floor plan
The office also includes a small bathroom.
The compact 130-square-foot office interior offers enough space for two to three people. The insulated floors are lined with Monckton Green vinyl by The Colour Flooring Company.
The Light Shed is wrapped in bituminous fiberglass corrugated mini profile cladding on battens with an UV open cladding membrane behind.
Whether your home office consists of a designated room or a tight corner in your kitchen, there are certain key strategies for making the most of it.
Dividing off your workspace with a temporary "wall" can be particularly effective if you're renting and can't make any permanent alterations to your home. Bookshelves also clearly serve a functional purpose.
"The Studypod was designed as a detached home office, so that you can truly focus and get inspired by the nature around you," says Torstein Aa, designer and cofounder of Livit.
Measuring approximately 38 square feet, the Studypod features a minimalist design and is delivered turnkey. The desk is optional and is detachable for greater flexibility, and the floors are oak laminate.
The home office is designed to be easily installed on foundation screws, which don’t require digging or a concrete foundation.
The glass walls allow the home office to become completely immersed in its surroundings. “Thanks to the glass panels and panoramic views, you have all the space on the outside that you can see from the inside,” says Kristi Kivilaid of ÖÖD House.
The office features a small timber bench attached to the wooden side wall. “It adds some fun, personality and surprise to a usually uniform area,” says Kristi Kivilaid of ÖÖD House. “It’s a place to sit down for some fresh air or with a cup of tea and enjoy your garden.”
Floor plan of ÖÖD Home Office by ÖÖD House
Large bi-fold doors and an operable skylight fill the backyard space with natural light.
The extension’s exterior walls and roof is wrapped in Scottish larch cladding.
The living zones have been painted in Farrow & Ball’s Duck Pond green hue. The framed art work hanging over the yellow Loaf sofa is a print of David Hockney’s Montcalm Interior at 7 O'clock painting from a 1988 exhibition.
The outdoor dining area is connected to the new kitchen through a fine frame double glazed sliding door by Sieger Systems. This was one of the more expensive features of the renovation—the doors and triple-glazed windows throughout cost just over $27K in total—but was essential to achieve the connection the client was looking for. The slatted screen was another important feature. “It creates a backdrop for the dining area that makes the terrace feel more like an outdoor room that is separate from the rest of the garden,” explains architect Julia Hamson.
The new kitchen features green kit kat tiles, a terrazzo-effect rubber floor, white cabinetry, and cherry wood veneered cabinets. The client originally wanted teak cabinets, but 4 S Architecture recommended using cherry wood instead as it is more sustainable but has the same warm tones as teak. “We couldn’t get behind teak as a product so we used FSC certified European cherry that has less air miles than American cherry,” explains architect Julia Hamson. “The client was really pleased with the result.”
The kitchen cabinets and integrated fridge merge seamlessly with the TV area. Everything has a place so the space is never cluttered. "In a small house you have to do some cool design tricks or you're just not going to have the things you want," Chester says. "That's the reality of it."
A window with automated louvres at the top of the stairwell ushers in light and airflow to the bedrooms.
Using off-the-shelf materials, including standard plywood and polycarbonate panels, helped streamline construction, even if it posed design challenges. “There were a lot of complexities that made it interesting,” says architect Tony Salas. “It was a big ask for a tiny project.”
Looking for a better separation between work and home life, Seattleites Natalie Rohde and Patrick Haig asked local firm Linework Architecture to draw up plans to replace an aging backyard shed with a standalone workspace containing two acoustically separated offices. To make it work for their budget, the couple convinced Patrick’s father, Rob, a retired contractor, to lead the build.
The couple used pre-cast concrete pavers for the hardscaping, as they were "more economical than cast-in-place concrete,
The basement now has a rec room, with a full kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, and exterior access, so it can function as an independent suite for guests or renters, depending on the couple's needs.
Rebuilding the rear addition gave Aleksandra a chance to play with its form, and make it contrast with the historic body of the Edwardian. Large glass doors lighten up the kitchen and connect it to the deck and backyard.
Aleksandra shifted and shortened the window to pack in usable storage around it. The cabinets are painted Rainy Afternoon by Benjamin Moore, combined with white oak boxes for contrast. “We were also badly hit by the material price increases during Covid,” says Aleksandra, whether it was kitchen cabinets or framing lumber. The couple were receiving quotes that changed week to week.
Aleksandra opened up the wall and reinstated the dining room where there's a second bay window. Two Spotlight pendants from ANDlight in Vancouver hang above the Ethnicraft Bok table and benches.
Streamlined trim, brass closet handles by BB Sweden, and a "gradation
Aleksandra restored the foyer's original proportions, adding porcelain tile, the Mutina Mews pigeon from Stone-Tile, in a herringbone application to the floor.
Aleksandra and Daniel removed the gray stucco, which revealed the original lap siding underneath was rotting, and replaced it with fiber cement siding board from Hardie instead.
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