2 Ways to Design and Build Your Perfect Home Office

Working from home has never been this popular — and in these times of physical distancing more important. Although a nice break from the office, having an ongoing work-from-home situation can become a little stressful when you’re not used to it. That’s why we wanted to offer our help in creating a conducive work environment for you. If you’re settling for a makeshift workstation, consider the advantages of designing and building your ideal home office instead. Now’s your chance, with two clear options to choose from to meet and exceed your expectations for a comfortable and efficient workspace.

Ideal Home Office Option #1: Repurpose an Existing Space

The first step in planning your ideal home office is asking a few basic questions about its utilization: How many people will it need to accommodate? Will the workload be heavy or light? Will you need silence for concentration, or distractions to keep you entertained? Most importantly, what’s your budget? The simplest, quickest, and most affordable ideal home office is using what you already have.

  • Bring a “Dead Space” Back to Life
    Take a tour around your home, with a discerning eye for areas that you and your family never even enter. You’d be surprised how much of your living space is under-utilized, often not used at all. These can include hallway alcoves, spaces under stairs, empty closets, and various nooks and crannies leading from one room into the next. Many of these have ample room for an ideal home office.
  • Change An Area You Already Have
    One step up from reviving a dead space is transforming a living one: Journey downstairs to your basement or upstairs to a loft or attic with an intent to design your ideal home office there. Evolving these spaces into a dream office is a combination of creativity and flexibility. Renovating above or below all the family commotion can give you the privacy and quiet needed to get work done.
  • Seamlessly Blend the Office Decor
    Whether you’re revitalizing a nook or remodeling your basement, your ideal home office should have the ergonomics and aesthetics perfectly aligned with your needs and design style. From the selection of desk and chairs to lighting fixtures and storage units, electronics to wiring, an optimal design heightens efficiency while matching the look and feel of the room and your home.

Ideal Home Office Option #2: Build an Entirely New Addition

Depending on your needs and budget, now might be the time to take things to a whole new level and create your ideal home office as a stand-alone addition to your home. The advantages of designing and building from the ground up are many, including having free reign over the layout, style, and functional basics such as workstation comfort, shelving and storage space, electronics, and even multifunctional use.

  • Choose the Best Spot
    An ideal location for your home office is actually where your needs and the existing architecture of your home come together. Depending on your current layout, a home office could be built off the great room in the backyard, or as an extension of the kitchen or dining nook.
  • Build Your Perfect Workstation
    If you’re committed enough to build a room addition for your home office, then demand nothing less than the desk, chair, and monitor set up just right for your body. Make sure you physically test each component alone and in combination to ensure optimal comfort in terms of position, orientation, storage, and lighting. Design your office around this personalized experience.
  • Make it Gorgeous and Efficient
    The same sensibility that created the work-from-home movement also inspires innovative homeowners to design and build home offices that are more than just “workspaces.” Make your new area not only ergonomic and efficient but comfortable, fun, and engaging! Add art, games, family photos, plants, electronics, other distractions. Mix work and play to bring out the best.

Partner with a Design-Build Remodeling Firm You Can Trust

Working from home makes more sense now than ever before, as does the opportunity to create your very own ideal home office.

Family owned and operated, Riverside Construction is eager to responsibly and safely work with you to bring your dreams to life. Now’s actually a great time to remodel, and Riverside is pleased to conduct most preparatory work remotely and effectively; we also help protect your family by conducting all work according to strict EPA lead-safe-certification regulations.

Riverside Construction is Lafayette’s top award-winning, design-build remodeling company. For more than 12 years we have provided loyal clients personalized and enjoyable remodeling services, delivered on time and on budget. By listening intently to your needs we provide the region’s best work: Take a look at our portfolio, and let’s build your ideal home office!

Responsible Renovation in the Time of COVID-19

 

Fortune favors the prepared mind, as they say — and the prepared design-build remodeling company. That’s because the firms that are already compliant with the EPA’s Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule are already prepared to keep you and your family safe during the pandemic. Turns out the same rules that require workers to be certified and trained in the use of lead-safe practices also apply to coronavirus-safe practices.

So let’s explore the three components of EPA lead-safe compliance, and see how they apply to today’s strange and often challenging world of physical distancing and lockdowns. The good news is that despite everything that’s going on you can design and build the home renovations you’ve always dreamed of, and do them in a safe and responsible manner. Just make sure the firm you hire is Lead-Safe Certified, and that they rigorously follow these rules designed to protect your home.

Certified Work Practices: Containment

Home renovations are usually noisy, dusty, and messy projects involving numerous workers, heavy equipment, and physical disruption. Whenever lead paint might be involved RRP rules help prevent toxic particles from getting into the air and onto surfaces where they can be breathed in and do damage. As we’ve learned, COVID-19 also gets into the air and onto surfaces, so by applying similar containment techniques, your certified contractor can help mitigate any potential issues and keep you safe.

Proven work practices for containment include isolating work areas with temporary barriers, limiting worker movement through the project area, and using dust scrubbers to filter the air to keep any job site dust down to a minimum. In addition, when working with others in close proximity masks and various protective equipment are worn by workers for their own safety.

Certified Work Practices: Cleaning

EPA’s renovation, repair, and painting rules are rigorous regarding cleaning procedures within a project zone, including specifications around cleaning methods, chemical agents, and frequency. Whether removing lead or the coronavirus, these techniques — when properly utilized — ensure that contained areas are precisely cleaned for personal safety.

Your contractor should be zealously following these protocols. Responsible firms will standardize their cleaning procedures to ensure thoroughness, often designating specific times throughout the workday. Part of the cleaning ritual is stubbornly maintaining physical distancing between workers and your family.

Note: Riverside Construction has adopted standardized cleaning procedures to ensure thoroughness in direct response to the Coronavirus threat. They are not only practicing safe distancing but are also wiping down high touch areas daily with disinfectant wipes and sprays, and consistently washing hands with soap and/or hand sanitizer.

Certified Documentation: Recordkeeping and Reporting

To abide by the law, lead-safe certified renovation companies must retain and, if requested, make available to clients and to the EPA all records necessary to demonstrate compliance. Although coronavirus is now on everyone’s radar much more so than lead paint, the same procedures can work to help fight the spread of infection in your home, as we’ve seen, — and the same careful procedure can protect your family and your home during a renovation project.

Proper documentation includes training and guidance for workers regarding proper containment and cleaning protocols, and RRP certification documents and reporting for the EPA. The bottom line is your remodeling contractor doesn’t necessarily need to have lead-safe certification to be safe, but having the certification can certainly give you additional peace of mind during these unprecedented times.

Note: Riverside Construction IS Lead-Safe Certified and fully committed to remodeling your space with utmost care and safety.

Partner with a LEAD-Safe Certified Design-Build Remodeling Firm

Riverside Construction is Lafayette and surrounding communities’ EPA lead-safe certified, award-winning, design-build remodeling company. We provide our clients with personalized and enjoyable remodeling services delivered on time and on budget. We consistently deliver the ideal remodeling solution by listening intently to each client’s unique needs. We are purposefully putting safety measures first as we continue to serve our community.