EXPLORE
Movato
  • Interior Design
    • Bathroom
    • Bedroom
    • Decor
    • Design Finds
    • Kitchen
    • Living Room
    • Paint
    • Renovations
  • Architecture
  • Landscape
  • Lifestyle
    • People
    • Places
    • Things
  • About Us
Movato
EXPLORE
Home in Canada
No Result
View All Result

Home Work

Some COVID telecommuters are renovating their home offices for the long term

by Elisabeth Kalbfuss
December 10, 2020
Share on FacebookPin itTweet itSend it

Lenny Di Palma describes working from home during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as a game of musical chairs. He and his wife tried setting up work spaces in different parts of their home—in one of their children’s rooms, their bedroom, the basement—only to move tables and chairs from one room to the next every few weeks when the pitfalls of each location became too much. “My wife is on her fifth desk,” Lenny says, laughing. Given the intrusions from their four children, aged 8 to 13, and their dog, Tiny Elvis, the working-from-home habit has been a challenge for the couple.

Set to begin a main-floor renovation of their Boucherville home later this fall, they recently asked their designer to rework their plans to carve out a second work station in addition to the computer nook they had planned. “Work space wasn’t going to be an integral part of the project originally,” Lenny says, “Now it’s become a lot more important.”

Photo by Joel Klassen, 
Styling by Alykhan Velji Designs 

Within a few months of the pandemic shutdown, large companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Shopify all announced that for huge chunks of their workforces, telecommuting would be the new normal, even post-pandemic. Many smaller employers are following their lead, and analysts and businesses agree that even those workers who will return to their offices will likely eventually continue to work from home at least part-time. It’s left many people who thought their kitchen table was just a temporary solution scrambling to figure out how to accommodate that shift in a more permanent way.

“When COVID happened and things were shutting down, I thought: ‘Who will put money into renovations? The economy will tank; things will take a pause,’” says Catlin Stothers, principal at Catlin Stothers Design in Montreal, who is managing the Di Palma family’s renovation. In fact, she says, she has found the opposite. People were suddenly spending a lot more time at home, and all the improvements they had been putting off suddenly seemed more necessary than ever, especially when it came to work spaces.

Photo by Joel Klassen, 
Styling by Alykhan Velji Designs 

In Calgary, designer Aly Velji says he, too, has noticed an increase in people wanting to improve their home offices. “The home office definitely comes more into play,” the principal of Alykhan Velji Designs says. “You can only work at the dining table for so long.”  

Velji finished a multi-functional office/guest room redesign for his husband, Jason Krell, just before the pandemic hit. “We made it personal to him, let him choose whimsical wallpaper that has tigers and clementines. You need to be inspired and have fun. I don’t think it needs to be utilitarian all the time.” 

  • Photo by Joel Klassen, Styling by Alykhan Velji Designs 
  • Photo by Joel Klassen, Styling by Alykhan Velji Designs 

Creating a home office is different from setting up a cubicle in an office building, he says. “Think about pattern, texture, seating.” Having personal items around can take the mind away from work for a minute, and perhaps re-inspire, he suggests.

He and Krell are lucky that they had an extra room in their home that they could designate as office space. Velji included a sofa bed, both for guests and for reading, and a long, custom-designed desk that can easily accommodate an extra laptop, as well as shelving and storage. As Krell says, “It’s one of the best rooms in the house.”

This guest room does double duty, thanks to a Murphy bed that can be folded away to make a dedicated workspace.
Photos by Drew Hadley, Courtesy of Hibou Design

Designer Eugenia Triandos of Hibou Design in Laval, Quebec says that as people are realizing they will likely continue to work at home for some time, they seem to be willing to make a bigger investment in their work space, both in terms of the space they’re willing to allocate and in the quality of furnishings. That might mean designating an entire room if their home is large enough, or choosing custom furniture, as well as wallpaper and window coverings. “The great thing about doing a custom unit is that you can do specific storage for individual needs, for printers and documents,” Triandos says. They can also hide printers, scanners and other equipment. “People are trying to make it work for the long term.”

Having a separate space to hold Zoom meetings or Skype calls in private and then close the door at the end of the day is ideal, but in many family homes it’s not realistic, says Stothers. “Sometimes, people ask me for a desk in the bedroom. I say definitely not! It’s important that work space be defined,” she says. 

Photos by Drew Hadley, Courtesy of Hibou Design

The best option in many homes might end up being a designated spot in the basement, she says. With little or no natural light, it becomes important to get the right light fixtures as well as creating warmth and avoiding that cavernous basement feeling.

It’s difficult to know when—or if—work will return to the way it was done before the pandemic. So, given a need to create the best work space possible, many of us are turning our attention to home…children, dogs, kitchen table and all. •

Originally published in the Autumn 2020 issue.

Catlin Stothers Design
www.catlinstothersdesign.com 

Akykhan Velji Designs
www.alyveljidesigns.com
403-617-2406

Hibou Design & Co.
www.hiboudesignco.com
514-574-0015

Tags: Covid-19home decorhome officeinterior designoffice

Related Posts

New and Improved
Interior Design

New and Improved

December 11, 2021

Photography: Larry ArnalStyling: Michaela Burns Michaela Burns has a way with lines. They appear as geometric shapes on wallpaper, in...

Mixing It Up
Featured-Homepage

Mixing It Up

November 18, 2021

Photography: Lauren MillerStyling: Ashley Montgomery Choosing the right designer to redesign and decorate their three-storey home in Toronto’s Rosedale neighbourhood...

Colour in the Kitchen
Interior Design

Colour in the Kitchen

November 1, 2021

Colour has become a delightful design element in kitchens in recent years. Cabinetry colours range from vibrant reds and oranges...

Nights at the Round Table—and Breakfast, too!
Design Finds

Nights at the Round Table—and Breakfast, too!

September 9, 2021

The legendary King Arthur is said to have chosen a round table for his court so that his knights would...

Lost and Found
Decor

Lost and Found

August 13, 2021

I am fascinated by the salvage of shipwrecks. Not only do I want catalogues and videos about the treasures found...

It’s Time to Up Your Terracotta Planter Game
Decor

It’s Time to Up Your Terracotta Planter Game

May 17, 2021

Photos courtesy of Courtesy Georg Jensen In their first-ever collaboration, the famous Norwegian architectural and design firm Snøhetta has combined...

Next Post

Holiday Gift Guide

  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Issues
Made with ❤️ in Montréal

© 2020 Home in Canada

No Result
View All Result
  • Interior Design
    • Bathroom
    • Bedroom
    • Decor
    • Design Finds
    • Kitchen
    • Living Room
    • Paint
    • Renovations
  • Architecture
  • Landscape
  • Lifestyle
    • People
    • Places
    • Things
  • About Us

© 2020 Home in Canada