Ask anyone who works out of a home office and they鈥檒l tell you the same thing: they can get a lot accomplished, but they have to be disciplined. And creating a great space to work within can help with both.
For some, a home-work environment is the only way to make any kind of work possible. Sarah Reid, runs her online art print gallery, , out of her home office in the Gorge Tillicum area and loves the fact that she can roll out of bed, make a cup of coffee and be at work right away. She recently renovated the second bedroom in her house to convert it into an office with great lighting and large desks where she can cut and frame her art.
鈥淚 bought my house three years ago and loved the room that鈥檚 now my office because it has great light,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淏ut it also had forest green carpet and a horrible lighting fixture.鈥�
Newly remodelled, the home office works well for her now that it鈥檚 been repainted, outfitted with new flooring and baseboards and had a new light fixture installed. The challenge now is making sure she gets out of the house enough.
鈥淚 can spend all day in my office which can be a disadvantage,鈥� she admitted. 鈥淢y office is right next to the bedroom and I can work 12 hours straight without even thinking about it. I have to consciously build healthy patterns into my day to make sure I have breakfast, go to yoga, take a walk and have social time with friends. If I didn鈥檛 it would be easy to put my head down and spend all day by myself.鈥�
Because Sarah prints, frames, packages and ships right from her office, the space needs to be functional. But she鈥檚 added a few touches to make its environment more approachable.
鈥淭he studio is full of records,鈥� she says. 鈥淢usic is a huge part of my life. There is nothing more perfect than printing art late at night with wine and records. Plus, flipping records is a great excuse to get up from the computer.鈥�
Working from home can make it challenging to separate work life from home life because the two become so closely intertwined. But it鈥檚 a luxury to work from the comfort of your home, says Larry Myers, an interior and exterior designer with .
鈥淚 started working out of a home office 15 years ago for practicality, lifestyle and convenience,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any staff and I don鈥檛 need a commercial space. So it made sense to work out of my home in Esquimalt.鈥�
Recently he renovated his home and opened up his living spaces. These days he鈥檚 working out of the great room, a main living area that includes the kitchen, dining room and living area. It contains a workstation with a desk and chair which is all Myers needs, since he works in a CAD computer environment with no need for paper or supportive materials.
| Designer Larry Myers in his home office tucked into an alcove off of his kitchen (Don Denton photograph) |
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lovely convenience and luxury to working from home,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淔rom my home office I look out to a beautiful exterior landscape and love gazing outside. I鈥檓 not tied down to specific hours or a specific office station and I can work when I鈥檓 inspired to do so. But you have to be disciplined, organized and efficient to manage a transition from a commercial office space to a residential one. If you succeed, working from home can be a more efficient use of your time 鈥� and allow you the flexibility to have a more balanced lifestyle.鈥�
, a professional ceramics artist and single mom of children ages 10 and 14, built her entire home around her second floor ceramics studio when she moved to the Victoria neighbourhood of Fairfield eight years ago.
鈥淚 need to have my work space at home so I can accommodate parenting and control drying times for my art,鈥� she reflected. 鈥淎t this stage in my life, it鈥檚 perfect.鈥�
Samantha鈥檚 750-square-foot studio was designed to capture maximum light and engineered to withstand the weight of two large kilns and heavy clay.
鈥淲e added concrete floors, drainage and extraction ventilation specifically so I could have a healthy, safe home with the kind of work space I need,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such an inspiring space and I love working there. My studio has bog windows through which I get a lot of sunshine and a view of the trees. In between my domestic responsibilities I鈥檓 able to get a lot done in there.鈥�
There are drawbacks to working from home as an artist and Samantha is the first to admit it.
鈥淢y work life is very interrupted by my responsibilities to drop my kids off at school or at dance. Also, I鈥檓 very isolated by spending so much time at home. If I worked artistically in an environment where there were multiple studios and lots of different artists I鈥檇 be surrounded by a community of people who mutually influence each other鈥檚 work and provide each other with creative touchstones. That would be ideal, but it鈥檚 not always practical, particularly if you鈥檙e parenting.鈥�
| Ceramic artist Samatha Dickie in her office on a landing outside her studio (Don Denton photograph) |
For now she finds a compromise to the isolation by making an effort to be involved in creative endeavours outside the home. Samantha does creative workshops at her children鈥檚 elementary school, participates in residency programs and shows her work in exhibitions.
鈥淲henever possible I try to work collaboratively and balance my year between doing residential design work, teaching and my own studio work.鈥�
, a registered designer with lawrie keo in Victoria worked with freelance writer Claudia de Veaux on designing her home office. (See tips below).
鈥淚鈥檝e worked in a variety of spaces 鈥� from a cramped laundry room to a vast warehouse,鈥� says Claudia. 鈥淚 discovered it didn鈥檛 matter what the environment, if I had a big desk with lots of surface, I was happy and productive. So once I figured out how to maximize the desk size for this space, everything else fell into place.鈥�
She added: 鈥淲orking at home can be distracting, so I made sure my office was fun and inviting. Lots of art, memorabilia, and the garden view keep me in my seat even when I鈥檓 feeling restless!鈥�
| Writer Claudia de Veaux with her dog Rody in her Oak Bay home office (Don Denton photograph) |
Outfitting Your Home Office
If you鈥檙e thinking about transitioning to a work-from-home environment, give yourself the best shot at it by approaching it strategically and methodically. Lawrie Keogh, with Gabriel Ross, offers these tips to setting up the ultimate home office:
飦� Ensure your office is a comfortable space where you鈥檒l want to spend long periods of time.
飦� Add art, a comfortable chair in the corner and something that makes the space personally and distinctly yours.
飦� If you鈥檒l be at a computer all day long, invest in an ergonomically comfortable desk and a chair that鈥檚 height adjustable.
飦� Pay attention to the quality of light in your home office so you will have visual relief from a computer screen and no glare. Invest in window coverings if necessary and ensure you have good ambient lighting.
飦� Ensure there鈥檚 good shelving or storage if you need to access resource documents in binders or boxes.
飦� Examine your workflow needs so you can consider what kind of furniture you鈥檒l need.
- Story Lauren Kramer
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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