Home Office
I have lost count of the past few weeks of the number of photos I have seen on Instagram and LinkedIn with people’s setups for working at home.
There are not many of us that had a home office or work space set up at home or a designated space to work from home. With the current climate many of us have been encouraged to stay at home which means setting up a computer on the kitchen table or sitting on the end of your bed. I know now may not be an ideal time to start building a home office space, but it could be the right time to start planning for one.
More and more companies are allowing or encouraging employees to work from home, I tried for years to let a previous employee let me work from home to no avail. At fluent a number of our team work from home a few days a week, it saves them time and money which is always a good thing, Netflix has made the commute home on the train more bearable however, it is still no fun is it?
The good thing is on most properties there is a way to make a space for a home office, a lot of the potential options will also be covered under permitted development which can save time with planning permissions but also means as long as it ticks all the boxes it is very unlikely to not gain a planning consent.
Maybe its time to plan for the long term and create a home office with more than office chairs, desk lamp and your laptop on a tray.
Garden Room
Building a single storey structure in your garden can be the best way to create a home office, under permitted development you are able to build a single storey building in your garden.
If it is within 2m of a boundary it can be no higher than 2.5m, if it is further away from a boundary you can go up to 4m on a dual pitch roof or 3m on any other type.
The footprint must also not exceed 50% of the total area of land around the original house. The outbuilding must also not be forward of the principal elevation of the house. In other words stick to the bottom of your garden and you will be fine.
Garage Conversion
Another great location for a home office is within your existing garage, most people only use here garage for storage so converting it to create an office can be a great option.
Again this is generally covered under permitted development, you could use the whole space and change the garage door to a window to get some natural light into the space, if the garage has a pitched roof on it then roof lights are a great way to make the space feel brighter which in term makes it feel bigger, you don’t want your home office to feel like a prison.
If you are worried about where your bikes and lawn mower are going to go you could retain your garage door and split the space into two, a store at the front and an office to the rear. You could still get light into the space with a side facing Windows or if the back wall looks onto the garden then a window hear works really well.
Loft conversion
A master suite is the first thing on people’s mind when they think about converting there loft. This is the most popular options, but it would also make a great workspace.
It could always be used as a bedroom if your situation changes or if you come to sell your house. If you would still prefer a large bedroom and ensure in the loft, you could then use one of the existing bedrooms as a study, on some larger 3 bedroom houses. It is possible to get to rooms in the loft, you could have the master bedroom at the rear looking over the garden and an office at the front within the roof slope.
You can install roof lights in the front face of the roof. Again loft conversions are normally covered under permitted development. The main requirements are the additional volume that you add cannot exceed 40 cubic metres on a terraced house and 50 for semi and detached houses.
The materials must be similar to those on the original house, no part can be higher than the original ridge line and you cannot have dormers on the front of the house.
Extensions
If you opt for a single storey side or rear extension this could free up space for a home office elsewhere.
If you go for a rear extension to create an open plan kitchen and dining area then you could split up your current rear reception room to create a study, as it will now be an internal room you could install large internal doors to shut the space off from the rest of the house but if you get glazed doors you can get some much needed light into the space.
If you are going to be working from home, then you need this space to be as comfortable as possible and natural light is going to help with this. If you opt for a single storey side extension then you could create a home office at the front of your property, the rest of the space could be used to extend the kitchen or create a utility room.
If you have any questions or concerns then please do call us on 0800 043 8838 where one of the team will be able to help with your enquiry.
Nev Millin
Director
