Home Workspace Idea Book

by: Neal Zimmerman

Topics include: attic workplace, successful home workplace, loft workplace, new home workplace, administrative station, main workstation, own home workplace, floor workplace, see the floor plan, existing garage, inactive storage, your home workplace, project stations, keyboard tray, visual privacy, setback requirements, writing studio, studio addition

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More than 50 million Americans work at home . and the work they do is as varied as the houses they live in. This fresh take on home workspaces looks at a wide range of designs that suit some unique employment needs -- from a daycare center to a dance studio. 50 drawings and 300 color photographs are included. "The book is a must ... full of practical but imaginative guides and information." -- Cincinnati Enquirer "Architect Neal Zimmerman frames dozens of ideas for stylish and ingenious conversions of the spare spot to work center." -- Associated Press

Design ideas for your home workspace When I first started working from home in 1994, I began in what I now call a "first-step home workplace." A lingering recession forced me to consider a less expensive alternative to renting office space, at least for the time being. So I commandeered what was a den on the first floor of our house and moved in office furniture and computer equipment I already owned, shuffling them around to achieve the best fit given the existing conditions of the room. I considered this to be a temporary move. At the time, working out of the house was still regarded by many (including me) as something less than serious. But a strange thing happened when I got home -- I discovered that I was netting more income in less time with less aggravation. This caught my attention. Not surprisingly, literally millions of other people were on the road to a similar discovery. Although sources vary, it's safe to say that well over 50 million people are now working at home, either full or part time. Tiresome and expensive commutes from home to work, environmental concerns, and new-age electronic tools have prodded and encouraged many of us to reinvent how, as well as where we work. Research has shown that people can blend work life with home life, while still yielding high levels of productivity, whether for themselves or for their employers. Now, a significant number of corporate employees -- so-called ecommuters -- also work at home under flexible arrangements. The number of telecommuters totals more than six million. In the very near future, that number is expected to double. The majority of these people are finding home workplaces to be financially and spiritually successful ventures, leading them to a different and better personal lifestyle. They love working at home, because in addition to saving time and money, they get a huge bonus of personal freedom, which can be invested in relaxation or the achievement of personal goals. They can also spend more time with their children and spouses or provide care for elderly parents. Whereas working at home used to be considered something on the fringe, it has now become desirable, even fashionable. As traditional places of business become more mechanical, metallic, and in some cases almost prison-like, people who work at home are able to generate environments that are softer, mellower, and highly personalized. Although virtually every home workplace uses one or more personal computers, the home workplace is no longer simply a location for remote keyboard pounding. About a decade into the process, we're seeing a great variety of home-based businesses blooming. Extending far beyond traditional professional service businesses, some home workers have either renovated or built new, small buildings on their home premises to serve the public, operating establishments that run the gamut from retail outlets and miniature fabricating shops to grand-scale aerobics gymnasia. People often begin working at home on a temporary or trial basis, sometimes because of a personal or financial need. At first, the decor may be modest -- a card table, a folding chair, or a desk found in the attic shoe-horned into the corner of a bedroom. But for the long term, first-step home workplaces are often unpleasant, poorly functional, and unhealthful. That's because many of the estimated 50 million home workers -- who wouldn't think of planning a kitchen without an experienced kitchen designer -- cobble together home workplaces without any professional help, relying solely on their intuition and leftover furnishings. But as more of us begin working at home, we are now recognizing the need for good home workplace design.

Table of Contents: Chapter 1: First Steps Know Your Needs Choose Your Location Develop a Floor Plan Create the Right Environment Design a Place for Who You Are Chapter 2: Shared Spaces Negotiating Privacy, Setting Boundaries Shared Bedrooms Shared Kitchens Shared Gathering Rooms Storage in Shared Spaces Chapter 3: Niche Spaces Nooks and Alcoves within Larger Rooms Closets Hallways and Stairwells Lofts Chapter 4: Dedicated to Work Bedrooms, Dens, and Other Redefined Rooms Basement Workplaces Attic Workplaces Sunrooms and Porches High Definition: New Rooms in New Houses Chapter 5: Adding On Rear and Side Additions Garage Additions Chapter 6: A Place of Your Own Converting an Existing Outbuilding New Construction: Crafting a New Vessel Chapter 7: Going Public

f you're like the over 50 million Americans who work out of their homes, having a comfortable and efficient home workspace is no longer a luxury: it's imperative. With that in mind, Neal Zimmerman, a Connecticut architect who specializes in home workplace design, has written the most wide-ranging book to date on how you can create your ideal home environment. With the help of over 300 photographs, Zimmerman covers home-work needs both basic and unique -- from artist's studios and aerobic classrooms to doctor's offices and sculpture showrooms. You'll discover how to make the best use of shared and niche spaces, get practical storage solutions, learn how to create dedicated workplaces and have rooms serve a variety of purposes. Best of all, the ideas offered in this book are solutions that work in the real world -- they will work for you too.

Reviews:

Working at home just got better -- Inspirational, professional, beautifully illustrated, there is a feast of ideas for every personality and business style to style your home office. You can spend alot or a little, this book has so many ideas to create the perfect home workplace, be it a corner closet or a barn. This book is a gold mine of ideas, whether you are creating your own work space, or do it professionally for others, this is the book to have.

Where you live is where you work -- Zimmerman does a most excellent job of showing us how living and working can be combined to enhance the human spirit. Increasingly people will be spending large amounts of time working in thier homes. We need books like this to get our thinking outside of the "let's re-do the second bedroom" way of thinking. Here's a book by a leading architect that gives people the visual examples of what's possible.