Creating Work-Play Balance: Designing Functional Home Offices in Custom Builds

There’s been a rise in work-from-home (WFH) options for many companies in recent years, which means if you’re starting the custom home building process now, you have an extra element to think about. Home offices weren’t as much of a necessity as recently as four years ago, but now, incorporating an office into your custom-built home probably feels like a must. It’s important, though, that you find a way to design a functional home office. That way, you’re not having to dedicate an entire room to work and at the same time, you’ll be allowing for a nice work-play balance within the space.

Having a room that can double as an office and a guest room is one way to go about it. You could also choose to use one room as both an office and a TV room that you and your family can enjoy outside of work hours. Or you could create a hybrid space that serves as both an office and a home gym. Whatever you’re looking to do, here are some tips to consider when you’re designing a functional home office as part of your custom home building project:

Pick the Right Location

It might seem unimportant, but it’s not. Choosing the right location for your home office is crucial. Depending on where you choose to incorporate it into your custom home, you’ll either open up possibilities for how else you can use the room or limit what it can be used for during non-work hours.

Furnish It With Comfort In Mind

Whether it’s going to double as a room for other activities or not, furnishing your home office with comfortable furniture is smart. After all, shouldn’t you look to make the WFH experience as enjoyable as possible? It’s still work, but why shouldn’t you be able to fully understand the concept of working “from the comfort of your own home.” Go with a comfortable desk chair, add a bed or couch elsewhere in the room, and do whatever you need to do to make the space as welcoming as possible.

Think About Lighting

First, you’ll need to decide whether artificial or natural lighting is your overall preference for the space. It’s not that you can’t employ both, but predominantly choosing one is going to have an effect on the overall look and feel of the room. Natural light is often the better choice for offices, though you have to consider what works best for you.

Incorporate Some Fun Into the Space

There has to be an element of “work hard, play hard” within your home office, right? Consider introducing some fun into the space, whether that means installing a television, investing in a Bluetooth speaker, or maybe even laying down a putting mat. Break time should be fun time, right?

Have Some Fun With Décor

Have some more fun with the way you decorate the home office space. If it’s a general office space, maybe stick with some basic design elements that are still enjoyable like pictures of friends and family, plants, and convenient storage accessories. But if the space is going to be more for one person than the other within your home, make sure it’s a space that reflects that! Whether it’s with imagery of musical artists, a bit of pop culture, or sports memorabilia, make this room into a space that you can show off to guests as more than just “the office.”

Looking to Start the Custom Home Building Process?

If you’re looking for the best custom home building project possible and you’re local to the Steamboat Springs, Colorado, area, reach out to the team at Steamboat Home Specialists today. We’d be happy to discuss your ideas with you, whether it’s related to designing a functional office in your custom build or any other aspect of the process.