Homeowners spend most of their time in open spaces like living rooms, which require plenty of outlets to power lamps, phone chargers and more. Unfortunately, the walls don’t always provide enough outlets for everyone and it can be difficult to power things in a large area without using an extension cord.
Home offices
Creating a dedicated home office can help separate work life from family time. It can also make you more productive at work. And if you sell your home, it can boost the value of the property.
Todd Chionis, owner of Itasca-based Top Drawer Carpentry, is being inundated with calls from people looking to convert garages, porches and sun rooms into home offices. Many of them are realizing that to claim any tax deductions, they need dedicated space. And they’re tired of booting family members out of their home’s multipurpose spaces.
Working from home is not for everyone, but the benefits are significant. If you have the right set up, you can increase your productivity, and you’ll save on commuting costs. Plus, you can be more flexible with your availability. That means you can meet with clients during what would be off hours — without having to leave your house. That could be a game changer for your business.
Open concept homes
Home buyers are gravitating toward open-concept homes, a design trend that eliminates walls in the main areas of the home. This creates a large space that can be tailored to your family’s needs, such as creating a dining room or home office.
Besides allowing you to create a multifunctional space, an open floor plan makes it easier to keep track of kids. Without wall barriers, you’ll have unrestricted sight lines to the kitchen and living area, ensuring your children are safe.
But open floor plans have some drawbacks. They can make it harder to control temperatures and can be noisy when people gather in the same room. In addition, you’ll have fewer places to hang artwork or personal items. And with fewer walls, it can be easy for clutter to build up quickly.