The Warrington, one of Lexington Homes’ suburban Chicago townhome offerings, includes a main level office off the open-concept kitchen, dining and great room.Lexington Homes
If it seems more people you know are telecommuting, it’s not your imagination. Almost three percent of the U.S. workforce, or approximately four million workers, spend at least half their work hours working from home. Regular remote work soared 115 percent from 2005 to 2015, a clip 10 times that of the workforce in general. Employers save more than $11,000 yearly for every half-time remote worker in their employ. Those savings total $44 billion across the entire existing population of at-home workers.
Little wonder Builder magazine found a dedicated home office buyers’ favorite choice of bonus rooms . The increasing amount of work undertaken from home is starting to reshape how builders lay out rooms, and impacting how real estate agents market homes with dedicated office space. Agents with Illinois’ largest family-owned independent real estate services company, Baird & Warner, report a sizable increase in Millennial and Boomer buyers seeking home offices.
“More people are working remotely, and buyers want a dedicated work space,” says Christine Drimalla, a Baird & Warner broker, who says separate yet central sells. “They want to be in sunlit spaces with plenty of natural light where they can access the rest of their home. I hear from buyers all the time they want an office on the main floor so they can quickly go to the front door or kitchen when needed.”
Flexible floor plans
At Provenance, a Northbrook, Ill. master-planned community, home builder Red Seal Homes grants buyers of the community’s single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes a choice of home office selections. Its single-family home option, The Estates, features a first-floor office or study, Its Terrace townhome option delivers an unfinished basement that buyers can transform into a home office.
Many Provenance buyers work from home at least several times weekly, ranking dedicated home offices high on their must-haves lists, says Red Seal Homes’ executive Brian Hoffman. “Likewise, buyers of our townhomes can easily convert their loft or third-bedroom space to an office, if they don’t want to finish their basement.”
Close to hub
House hunters seeking townhomes with home office or flex space are being spotted in profusion by Chicago-based Lexington Homes. Filling the bill is The Warrington, a townhome floor plan Lexington Homes offers at its Lexington Heritage, Lexington Pointe and Lexington Walk communities in the Chicago suburbs of, respectively, Arlington Heights, Des Plaines and Morton Grove. The Warrington offers a main level office or den off the open-concept kitchen, dining and great room. The office features solid-core doors upgradeable to French doors and a transom window.
“It’s unusual to find a townhome with an office on the main living level,” Lexington Homes principal Jeff Benach said of The Warrington.
“Buyers like that they can work close to the hub of the home where they can keep an eye on children and easily grab snacks or coffee from the kitchen. Then, when done working, they can close off the space with the beautiful French doors.”
Prioritizing privacy
For some buyers, home office privacy is more important than a central location within the home. At Chicago developer Belgravia Group‘s luxury condominiums Renelle on the River and Three-Sixty West, now under construction in downtown Chicago, floor plans include bedrooms that can double as home offices. These are situated away from kitchens and other rooms associated with concentration-busting bustle.
“Privacy and the opportunity to focus on work is important to those who telecommute or operate a business from a home office,” Belgravia Group executive vice president Liz Brooks says. That “is why our floor plans at Renelle on the River and Three Sixty West include at least one secondary bedroom that offers separation from the center of the home. Along with a distraction-free environment, these rooms also offer floor-to ceiling windows, reminiscent of the classic corner office” to which many aspire.