A branch office in the backyard

Sunset, April, 1996 by Peter O. Whiteley

Four detached home offices draw the line between home and work

An in-home office sounds pretty good in theory. Then the front door bell rings, the children start playing red light-green light in the next room, and the temptation to do chores - after all, you're home - draws your attention away from your work.

More than a few farsighted homeowners have eliminated these working-at-home distractions by moving the home office into a detached building. As architect John McLean points out, "The simple act of traveling even a short distance from one's home to a place to work fundamentally changes the perception of that place from one of home to one of work."

Of the four buildings shown in the next few pages, two were remodeled from existing structures and two were built from scratch. The smallest is a former garden toolshed, the largest an architect-designed building the size of a small cottage. None was designed to house additional employees or as a place to receive clients, which in some cities would have required providing additional off-street parking.

FROM TOOLSHED TO DOCTORS' OFFICE

Claudia Gallison and David Winchester, both physicians in Portland, needed a quiet place at home to focus on their research work and prepare for talks. But with two exuberant children ages 3 and 5 rocketing around, it was tough for the parents to concentrate.

Their sloping site offered little space for an addition, and they had considered moving until Steve Jacobson of Neil Kelly Designers/Remodelers suggested taking a look at the old toolshed in their backyard.

The 12- by 16-foot shed was notched into the hill above their back deck, and both its interior and foundation had seen better days. Its shell, though, was in reasonable shape.

They replaced the foundation, then repaired the siding. A broad cascade of steps now connects the office building to the house's enlarged deck to help the visual connection.

Inside, knotty pine beams reinforce the walls and roof and add a wood tone repeated in the pine wainscoting and plank floor. Painted walls, new side windows, an octagonal rear window, and sliding French doors in the front brighten the space. Above the doors, a custom window emphasizes the form of the shed's gambrel roof.

New phone and electricity lines out to the shed allowed the owners to put in lighting, computer hardware, and an electric wall heater. A U-shaped counter of marble-textured plastic laminate defines the office area and provides space for spreading out paperwork. Built-in Craftsman-style cabinets and bookcases reduce the need for freestanding furniture, and uplighting wall sconces reflect diffused light off the ceiling.

NEW LIFE FOR AN OLD GARAGE

Melissa and Patrick Finnigan's multicolored office building in Mountain View, California, is in its fourth incarnation. The 22- by 24-foot space was built as a two-car garage, then evolved into a rental unit, and subsequently became a photographer's darkroom. Now the building serves as Patrick's daytime workspace for his architectural design business, and doubles as a family room in the evenings, since it's bigger than any room in the house. To save money, the Finnigans remodeled the building themselves.

Transforming the former darkroom meant they needed to bring in a lot more light. They reframed exterior walls to use six windows salvaged from a house Patrick had remodeled for a client. The couple also replaced termite-damaged interior walls with a window-studded wall that angles across the floor to separate the main office-family room from two smaller storage areas - one used for bikes, camping gear, and tools; the other used for office supplies.

Inside, the room is a course in color techniques: the new 2 1/2-inch-thick concrete floor, which covers the original one, has a coppery color that was created by spreading a slurry of iron sulfate fertilizer and water on the slab after it dried. The pitched ceiling is covered by 8-foot lengths of tongue-and-groove paneling that Patrick prestained light green and yellow with diluted latex paints. On the walls, colored plaster creates a soft, mottled look: a parchment color on the perimeter walls and terra-cotta on the angled wall. Burgundy and dark green paints accent wooden trim and beams.

The furnishings reflect the room's dual life: a drawing board and flat files for blueprint storage, as well as comfortable couches, a coffee table, and a television. A woodstove is the sole source of heat.

A NEW WORKSPACE AND A PRIVATE COURTYARD

"My husband used to work in the basement next to the water heater and under an old sewer line," recalls Jo Anne Beasley. These days, Malcolm Beasley, a professor of applied physics at Stanford University, retires to working quarters set in far more scenic surroundings. He exits the rear of the main house, crosses a brick-covered courtyard, walks under a covered arcade, and enters his own oak-floored office with inset mahogany strips around the perimeter. The 10- by 15-foot structure borrowed space from a fenced-in patio area, and now blocks views from the street when the patio is used for entertaining - a real bonus since the site is an exposed corner lot.