As wireless technology gets better and better, the home office is changing. Working from home no longer requires a room of one's own (and in small city apartments extra rooms are a luxury that many can't afford). We like the idea of a built-in banquette that can double as both a dining room and a home office. A while ago we clipped this photo of a gorgeous banquette from Chicago Home + Garden. The seating contains hidden storage that could easily house files and office supplies.
That is absolutely beautiful - it's going in my style tray.
EXCEPT ... I can't get behind the single random urn on the middle of the bench. It kind of makes me giggle. Yeah... that would really last more than 10 minutes in an actual lived-in house.
view Llllacy's profile
Woah! Love @ 1st Sight.
view Djluckyonline's profile
What impresses me about this scenario is that the element is minimal in appearance and serves multiple purposes.
It essentialy creates a new area of the home with it's walls, provides storage in the form of drawers or cabinets, provides seating and looks beautiful.
I plan on applying this built-in concept to my condo entryway. Either in the form of solid panels like the picture above or in the form of separate scribed panels of wood.
view art's profile
Speaking as someone who works from a small home half-time, this wouldn't work for me. I love a clean uncluttered environment but putting everything away once a day just isn't practical. I've tried to hide as much as possible but I don't want to walk into another room to throw something (non-recyclable) in the trash. And how about the printer? I'm a designer. I need to see what I've printed easily. I've seen very few rooms I thought would really work. And I stress -- work.
view Annieo's profile
Wow, this is funny because I sit and daydream about what I would do to my apartment if I owned it. Well building a built-in eating area/storage/work area, very similar to the one above, is just what I imagine.
Sweet!
view orangejuce's profile
Annieo - you could do a built-in according to your own specs. If you need space for a printer, add a printer drawer into the plans. The great thing about built-ins is that you can do what you wish.
Mine would contain a few bookshelves off to one side. I would also incorporate a desk surface. One of the dining chairs could double as a desk chair. And since I don't work from home and only use my computer/desk for minor home business issues or recreation, this would work perfect.
view orangejuce's profile