Design community survey reveals what’s trending for home office
Home offices, which took off during the pandemic, are continuing to evolve, according to a new survey from Fixr.com.
With more than 36 million U.S. residents expected to work from home by 2025, there’s an ongoing emphasis on home offices and how to make them more efficient and more stylish.
The survey, which polled members of the interior design and home staging community, revealed that, at 77%, multi-functional space is the biggest trend for work-at-home spaces. Distant seconds were minimalism and moody design (39% each), followed closely by biophilic design and incorporating color (37% each).
Addressing the multi-functionality requirement, one respondent said home offices are doubling as spare bedrooms by using daybeds, sofa beds and wall beds to free up space, while another pointed out that furniture on hidden casters is being used in smaller homes and apartments. There’s also a trend toward using closets and pantries to carve out office space.
When it comes to whether homeowners want a spare bedroom or a home office, the office wins hands down, with 91% of respondents saying people are more likely to have an office than an extra sleeping space.
Ergonomic furniture (54%) is seen as the biggest priority for homeowners creating an office, but video call backgrounds are right up there in importance at 49%. Other essentials listed include light and storage (46% each), a calming design and space (33%) and soundproofing (19%).
Home offices are also taking home owners and designers into the smart technology realm. Among the most popular smart products being deployed for the work-at-home site are smart lighting (70%), voice assistants (57%), smart displays, which serve as a hub for controlling home features (46%), smart power strips (37%) and digital notepads (25%).
About two-thirds of designers and stagers believe a home office has a big impact on a home’s value, while just 3% say it has no value. One respondent said home offices have become “a non-negotiable requirement” no matter the size of the space.
The Fixr.com survey is based on results from 71 completed surveys taken in December 2023.