Smart Home Office and Playroom Combo

April 15, 2022
Published by Pacific Lifestyle Homes

Our home designs keep in mind the way people use their homes today. From open plans to flex rooms to bonus rooms to owner’s suites on the first floor, we want to create homes for you that fit your lifestyle now and give you room to change and grow and still have your home fit your needs. One of the most recent needs in homes in Vancouver WA and across the country is the need for a home office and a playroom.

We typically offer enough space in our home designs to allow for separate home offices and playrooms/schoolrooms, understanding that everyone needs some quiet time. However, depending on the age of your children, you may not be able to be in separate rooms. This is where our spacious bonus rooms become an ideal combination of smart home office and playroom.

When designing your space, the best thing to start with is deciding where your home office will be. You’ll probably need more plugs for computers, printers, etc., probably in a corner where you can seal yourself off spatially from the kids so that they don’t get in the way of online meetings or don’t accidentally get caught up in wires, printers, and other odds and ends. Then you can leave the rest of the space to the kids. Even adding in some low bookcases to demarcate your office area can help younger kids understand. You could also add a large rug or choose a different color carpet to create your office zone and teach the children to understand the difference between the two areas and to “knock” before entering, even if you don’t have a door.

The great thing about combining spaces is that you can have fun with the colors and textures in the room. Don’t be afraid of letting some of the color and fun into your own office area. A cheerful color may help keep you motivated to work, and for video calls, it can be an attractive background. Still, by separating your office space, you can keep your section professional, while still allowing the play area to be fun with wall decals, pictures, and even wall chalkboards that allow the children to have fun expressing themselves. Plus, chalkboard paint now comes in a variety of colors. Alternatively, you could have a wall – or portion of a wall – covered in corkboard so they can hang up their finished works of art.

As for the furniture, look for items that do double duty or that can make the most of a space. Tall bookcases are a great option because the kids can have the lower levels and the adults can use the upper levels. Definitely make the most of vertical space. Cubbyhole-type bookcases are ideal for organized storage, letting you keep the kids’ toys in baskets or boxes that fit the cubbyholes, so that they can easily be tidied up. The containers can also be used to add some fun color to the room. Even for adults, storage boxes in the cubbyholes can be great for keeping loose items that can get messy when left out. Just be sure to firmly mount any bookcases so they don’t create a hazard if children start to climb or bump into them.

Give your kids their own “workspace”  with a hard-wearing table where they can do crafts and other projects, and consider letting it mimic your own space somewhat so that the kids can feel included, even when you have to focus on work. Don’t forget to give them comfortable play areas, though. Soft benches with built-in storage are great, as are poufs for sitting and playing on, and soft rugs for when they’re down on the ground.

Ultimately, when planning a combo office and playroom, think about who is going to use it the most and decorate accordingly. If you’re going to use it daily for work, while the kids may only be in there a few hours of the day, then you may want to put more focus on your office, depending on how much space you need. However, if it’s the children who will get the most use out of it, try to take up as little space as possible. You could always set up a more formal home office elsewhere for when you need to focus or not be interrupted on calls, but if you’re going to be in the playroom, keeping an eye on the kids for a couple of hours, set up a smaller space that will meet your needs but not take over the space. It’s all about finding the right balance and that comes down to your lifestyle.

Still, embrace the bright, cheerful nature of a playroom in some aspects of your home office and create two spaces that blend stylistically so that everyone in the family can enjoy their time in the room. Think about what your kids will need and what you’ll need and you can easily map out and start designing the perfect office/playroom combos for your homes in Vancouver WA

Categorized in: Design Tips, Floorplan Info, Maintenance Tips, Market Tips, New Home Tips, Pacific Lifestyle News

This post was written by Pacific Lifestyle Homes