As a residential architect and working mom, I make it my mission to find ways for our houses to be more user-friendly. Our lives are constantly changing and evolving. So should our house.
Technology is always influencing how we live and how we engage in activities in our homes; the evolution of the office at home – or study is one. Years ago it was a big, masculine room with hunting scenes, green walls, a leather sofa and a big wooden desk. Then came the home computer with all its wires and cables, really messing up the aesthetics of the desk. Sometime down the road, we realized moms needed access to a computer and their own work area. Then the kids needed a computer for their homework (at least that’s what they told us they were doing). Bottom line, the very masculine, power study does not fit in with today’s lifestyle.
The advent of the wireless devices and pads has yet again changed home computing completely. Our office can be virtually anywhere; on the sofa watching TV, outside on the porch, or away from the home during the half time of the soccer game.
We no longer need the giant power den, but a dedicated work space can still help with productivity. I recommend a small pocket office just off the kitchen. Close enough to the action but just far enough away to keep someone from placing the pizza box on top of the utility bills! The pocket office has been the perfect place where kids can do their homework while the parents prepare the evening meal. Mail can collect here “safely” until we have time to sort through it and deal with it. My daughter uses the kitchen computer for recipes. Even with our phones and tablets, the computer in our kitchen is the most used computer in our house. Often times I found myself in the pocket office very early in the morning, before any one was awake in my house – just enjoying the quiet before the craziness of the day.
I believe a well-positioned pocket office is what every household needs. A place where the serious business of running a household can be conducted daily while still in earshot of the kids and while dinner is simmering on the stove. Indeed, it is where I’m writing this blog today!
Blog written by Deryl Patterson of Housing Design Matters
