PLAN AHEAD FOR HOME OFFICE

By JENNIFER J. MEYER
Orange County Register
Friday, August 7, 2009

Converting a spare bedroom into a home office often results in a stark makeshift space that's barely functional and even less inviting.

Like all great ideas, you need a plan to make it work. "Before you run out and buy a desk, determine who is going to use the space, how it will be used and what problems you need to solve," says Chris Kittrell, an Irvine-based interior designer. "Space planning is critical to achieve the desired result."

Kittrell collaborated with a professional organizer and computer support specialist on a recent home office project in Newport Beach. The design challenge: to create a multi-functional shared workspace within a 10-by-12-foot bedroom for the homeowners — a practicing attorney and a law professor — and their two young children.

Plenty of storage needed to be added for mountains of legal papers. And the space needed to look great and flow with the rest of the house.

Major design considerations were:

* Placement of multiple workstations
* Proper lighting
* Storage and paper management
* Durability of the materials

Custom designed wood cabinets and work stations, which wrapped around the perimeter of the room, helped achieve all that the homeowners asked of the space. Lighted shelves with a collection of family photos give the room an attractive focal point.

The children sit at two stations facing the wall, so the parents could view their computer screens. With these desks visible from the doorway, it was important to hide unsightly computer cables that would naturally drape behind. False cabinet panels situated below the workstations solved the problem by acting as secret doors, which open for easy access to the cables.

Artwork from the living room served as inspiration for the color palette in the office. Khaki green wood stain and dove gray wall paint create a tranquil family work environment.

Adding enough light to the relatively dark, north-facing room was important to prevent eyestrain. Overhead, under-cabinet and task lighting achieved the desired effect. A woven window shade positioned over energy-efficient, tinted windows reduces glare and allows filtered light to enter the room during the day while a heavy roller shade behind provides privacy at night.

Controlling paper and clutter can be a challenge in any office. And this one needed 14 file drawers. Professional organizer Lisa Guzzo says only 20 percent of papers will be looked at a second time.

Managing the mess starts with a serious purge, then devising a workable system to organize what's left. Guzzo chose FreedomFiler, a color-coded system, to organize and control the paper flow in this busy home office. Bi-folding closet doors replaced sliders for easy access to stored files.

The cost of this ultimate office: $20,000, not including the computer equipment. The custom-designed cabinetry was the biggest splurge of the six-month project, followed by the porcelain floor tiles.

While these homeowners chose high-end materials, a designer can present options, which can actually save money, Kittrell says. Homeowners can waste a lot of money on furnishings that won't function as they hoped. "If an office isn't customized, chances are it won't meet your needs in the end," she says.