Building a home-office from the ground up: firsthand advice on building an addition from a Texas ad pro who turned her backyard into a boardroom - Office Design

Home Office Computing, March, 1993 by Carol Russo

Market Directions, Hurst, Texas

OWNER: Carol Russo

EQUIPMENT: Macintosh IIci; 16-inch NEC MultiSync monitor; NEC Silent-writer laser printer; two external hard-disk drives (20MB EMAC, 105MB clone); Murata M900 fax

SOFTWARE: Adobe Illustrator, Bill-It, Microsoft Word. PageMaker, SuperPaint, TypeStyler

DESIGN MISSION: "The design of my office should help me maintain the balance I've achieved between spending time with my children and running a business that demands more than 40 hours a week."

When I left the corporate world of marketing to start my own advertising and marketing business, I set up shop in several existing rooms of my house and finally decided to add office space. I learned the importance of making the home office a professional environment the hard way.

For my first year, I used an extra bedroom as an office. With the acquisition of my grandmother's antique furniture, my "office" doubled as a guest room. This worked fine--until my husband and I began to have guests. Visits from friends were awkward for everyone involved, and the arrangement didn't work out. So I moved my supplies and equipment to a long wall in the master bedroom--a mistake from the very beginning. Being in the same room up to 20 hours a day compounded an already stressful job.

BRAINSTORMING ON PILLOWS

The biggest problem with the bedroom-as-boardroom was client visits. Most meetings took place at the client's office, but occasionally they had to meet me at my house. For a trade-show seminar, a client and I reviewed overheads by laying them out on a bed in lieu of a conference table. Even though we brainstormed on the floor amidst pillows, the project was successful, but I was embarrassed by my less-than-professional location.

Another time, I was discussing the layout of a magazine with a client in the living room. We made a change, so I went to my drafting table--in the bedroom--to rearrange the type. Unfortunately, my client followed me and found an unmade bed, a baby swing and bottles, and type strewn all over the floor. (I had stayed up most of the night juggling his project and feeding my month-old daughter.) I was horrified--and so, apparently, was the client. He took future issues of his magazine to a local type house for production, and I knew I had to get serious about my office.

I thought about what I needed in an office. I wanted an area that was convenient yet private. I needed space for a desk, a phone, and a fax machine, somewhere to store supplies, and, of course, electrical current to run all my equipment. I wanted to be away from household chores and activities, which cause constant distractions. I needed a place to think, be creative, and focus on the day's project. And it had to be a place where tiny hands and paws would not disturb my paperwork or computer keyboard. It was clear that my home would not allow even these bare necessities, so I decided to add an office to the house.

My remodeling experience was generally positive, but making a major addition to your home is not something to rush into. First talk it over with your family, then discuss your ideas with several contractors. Some may offer suggestions and return with solid bids; others will provide only rough estimates. This can be a lengthy process, so have patience. Examine the resale value of your home after remodeling and possible uses of the addition in the future. Perhaps the room can become a bedroom or a recreation room if you no longer need an office. You may wish to combine building office space with the building of a family room to reduce the pressure created from this expenditure.

SHOP AROUND

My husband and I envisioned an office, a playroom, and an additional heating and air conditioning unit. We were fairly sure about what contractor to use before we began the interview process, as we had seen his work at a friend's house. We asked him for a quote and got two other bids from recommended contractors. Each was unique and offered good suggestions. Two quotes came in relatively close, around $20,000. The third, which was $10,000 higher, called for major structural changes we were not prepared to make. After comparing cost projections, we decided the initial contractor's bid was fair, so we signed on the dotted line and secured a home-improvement loan.

As you study your bids, keep in mind that the floor covering and hardware may appear as an allocation only. You may be surprised at the cost of flooring, lighting, and doorknobs. If you hope to stick to your budget, make sure to find something for the price listed in your bid. I found a good deal on parquet squares through one store and purchased short-looped carpet at another to save money. We were able to move and reuse one outside door and two of three windows, which helped to cut costs.

GET IT IN WRITING

Draw up a floor plan on paper and make all changes in writing. It's the best way to avoid trouble down the road. Our job did not require the traditional blueprint floor plan we expected; a sketch on 8.5-by-l4-inch paper was sufficient for my husband and me, the builders, and the city. Early one morning as we sat around the kitchen table, the contractor gave us a ballpark figure for a couple of late additions to our project. When the bill came a month later, those figures were much higher than we had anticipated. This led to several awkward conversations with the contractor, which could have been avoided had we secured a formal estimate as an addendum to the initial bid. Since the small crew had essentially become part of the family during the build, money conflicts were even more vexing.