9 to 5 at home - home office solutions

Sunset, Jan, 1997 by Ann Bertelsen

AN IN-BOX FULL OF TODAY'S MOST INSPIRING HOME OFFICE SOLUTIONS

Just like the electronics that go into them, today's home offices know no bounds. With careful planning and a little imagination, you can create one almost anywhere, either as an artful addition to an existing home or as an ingenious makeover of another room. Even when there's no room, it's still possible to create a home office. Take a look at the versatile armoire (page 60) we found in San Francisco: it's a World Wide Web-accessible wardrobe. Whether you're planning a home office to capture a breathtaking view or wondering how to squeeze an office into a compact space, you'll find a file folder of ideas on these pages.

ROOM with a VIEW

Business lawyer Marion Robertson used to work in a high-rise office building in downtown San Francisco. Now she works from home and loves every minute of it. "I'm never late for work and I don't have to worry about the weather," she quips. "And on top of all that, I have a wonderful view of the city skyline." Robertson spends at least eight hours a day working in her recently remodeled office. Once two small bedrooms, the 16- by 20-foot room is now one big open space cleverly designed to function as both a bedroom and an office for Robertson and her husband, James. The floating center island serves as a room divider: the office side is equipped with pullout file cabinets, the other with deep drawers for sweaters and bed linens. Skylights, clerestory windows, and French doors flood the space with natural light. Floor and ceiling are Douglas fir, the work surfaces plastic laminate. The Berber carpet is inset in the floor for a practical, tailored look.

Architect: Leslie Arnold, San Francisco. Contractor: Robert Vranizan of Vranizan Construction, San Francisco.

BEHIND closed DOORS

No room for a home office? Think again. Nowadays there are a variety of handsome armoires like this one that can do double duty as fine pieces of furniture and all-in-one home offices. When closed, this German art deco piece - 6 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and 24 inches deep - looks like an old-fashioned wardrobe. But it opens to reveal sliding shelves for computer, keyboard, and printer, plus large pullout drawers for filing cabinets and an assortment of shelves that can be adapted for individual uses. If you plan to convert an armoire for office use, make sure it's at least 18 inches deep, enough to hold a computer with monitor. It helps to add notches and grommets to the shelves for wire management. If the armoire has three doors, as this one does, two of them should be hinged together, so the entire cabinet is easily accessible when the doors are open.

Designer: Mark Dutka of InHouse, San Francisco.

COMMAND performance

It's little wonder that this stunning home office with its large picture windows is the command center of the house. Positioned between the kitchen and the family room - with views of the beautifully landscaped gardens and patio - the office is a great place to hang out. It provides all the essential components of a home office without seeming to do so. The bench-style filing cabinet on the left is part of the custom-designed desk (made by San Francisco industrial designer Olle Lundberg). The desktop is crafted from molten crystal and seems to float in space. The slim silhouette of the cabinets and drawers below the windowsill creates an elegant frame for the garden view, and a fireplace provides winter warmth. The cabinets are fashioned from bronze that has been treated with a potash chemical solution for a mottled finish.

Architect: Ken Rupel of Rupel, Geiszler, McLeod Architecture, San Francisco. Contractor: Campi Construction, Los Altos Hills, California.

FAMILY friendly

Scared of being walled in? Architect Richard Brayton, an avid fly-fisherman, loves the great outdoors. So the last thing he wanted was a boxy, claustrophobic office in his newly constructed home in San Francisco's Pacific Heights district. Although the rectangular office has no windows, it overlooks the adjoining living room through a 4- by 7 1/2-foot opening that borrows indirect light from a bank of windows in the opposite wall. A 3-foot-diameter hole in the ceiling draws additional natural light from a central atrium on the floor above. Because the office isn't designed for intense concentration, it made sense to open it up for dramatic impact and personal interaction. "Our two children often use the computer [in the office] or chat with us from the adjoining room," says Brayton. "So although it's technically my home office, it has become a place where everyone gravitates." The 8 1/2- by 9-foot room is not much larger than a standard workstation in a commercial office building, yet it satisfies all the needs of this busy family.

Architect: Richard Brayton, San Francisco. Contractor: Uwe Dobers of Fine European Construction, San Francisco.

BLUEPRINTS for SUCCESS

Finding ample space for reference books can be a problem in a home office, especially if you don't want to obscure a spectacular view with walls of bookshelves. Which is why Seattle architect Geoffrey Prentiss designed this flexible shelving system for the 12- by 14-foot library, a former bedroom, in his 1902 house. The room has views of the city on one side and Puget Sound on another. "I wanted to capture the view through lots of windows and doors, but I also wanted a place for my books," Prentiss explains. "The bookshelves span three sides of the room, yet don't obstruct the view." The shelves are made of fir; the vertical supports are plate steel that has been sandblasted and sealed. Each support has a row of small, stainless steel pins that can be adjusted for varying book heights. Prentiss painted the walls a khaki color, choosing a slightly lighter shade of khaki for the ceiling. The floors are Douglas fir. For protection from the western sun, Prentiss added Japanese sudare screens, made from bamboo trimmed with silk brocade. "It was important for me to maintain the character of the old saltbox structure, while introducing some more contemporary elements," he says. "This has turned out to be a wonderfully peaceful retreat, and I don't think I'll ever tire of it."