Classic TV shows often featured dads such as Ward Cleaver, Darrin Stephens or Mike Brady in home offices—then called a study or den. Today, as gas prices soar and technology grows more sophisticated, many workers—male and female—work at home. But, home offices aren’t just for work anymore.

James D. LaRue of James D. LaRue Architecture Design in Austin says that many clients also use them as family gathering spaces, where kids and adults meet to do everything from homework to managing home finances and other projects.

Essential Elements

“Most libraries—as we call them today—have a credenza or alcove, and perhaps a U-shaped desk with storage and room for a computer, fax machine and a copier,” LaRue says. These rooms can have areas concealed behind pocket doors, he adds. “That way, if you want to work from home, you can leave your work out and keep it from public view,” he explains.

Balancing storage space and display areas is key, LaRue explains. Homeowners want to keep some items concealed from floor to ceiling but also to express themselves with what they place on shelving. “Many like to display their memorabilia or collections in this room,” he says.

Most of the time, the library serves as a getaway space for adults and is often strategically placed near the master suite, LaRue says. Many homeowners even opt for a library over a formal living room, he adds.

Hence, these rooms often emit the warmth of a cozy living area, LaRue says. To help achieve that feeling, many LaRue home offices include fireplaces. And creative use of natural light and track and pendant lighting can create the ambience homeowners want. Lighting is important, LaRue says.

Tailor-made For Two

Many homeowners ask for two home offices—one for her and a “dressier” one for both of them, LaRue adds. “Hers is often located in the active center of the home, while the library is found in a quieter section,” he explains.

Stewart Davis, designer for CG&S Design-Build in Austin, has seen this trend, too. In one example designed by his firm, the office area for the woman of the house is near the kitchen. “Here, the office is also a pantry,” he says. “It’s a command center for the social director—usually the mom.”
  
In the pantry office, complementary materials painted the same color help maintain the architectural flow. “It cleans the space up and connects to the kitchen,” he says. “Convenient doors can close off the area when necessary. We also built a ‘man cave’ above the garage for dad, too.”

In general, Davis says home offices can be tailored to meet homeowner needs.

“For example, in a home we recently designed with a detached garage and walkway, the residents will actually walk into the home through the back door,” Davis explains. “They needed a drop zone for their mail, keys and laptops, as well as a place to check their messages, coordinate their calendars.” The home office near the rear of the home serves that purpose.

Tried And True

Some homeowners seek a more traditional home office. One example that Davis describes was a workspace designed for a local business executive whose workday extends beyond his hours at the office. “It’s a classic home office space that we placed in a quiet part of the house,” Davis says. “It has a commanding view from the highest lot in Austin, along with an outdoor walkout space.”

As in LaRue’s designs, windows are an important element of the room, flooding it with light. Track, pendant and table lights also illuminate the workspace and its elegant, rich, custom cherry cabinetry. A TV allows the resident to watch the stock market or sports. A nearby window niche offers another set of table and chairs and an easy chair in which to relax.

The balance between workspace and personal space is a delicate one, Davis adds, further touting the benefits of a dedicated home office area. “If you work at home, you need your own space so it doesn’t bleed through the rest of the house,” he muses. “Anyone who has worked at home knows how it can literally take over.”