A room of their own
By Stacee Sledge
Whatcom Magazine, February 2008
Home offices offer
options for productive privacy...or impromptu naps
One of
the best things about a home office is just that: It’s
at home. No straining to be heard over a colleague’s
booming baritone, coffee made just the way you like it,
and no boss peering over your shoulder. But these three
Whatcom County homeowners found more than simple
solitude, creating efficient, tailor-made spaces that
work just right for pursuits ranging from photography
and paying bills to psychotherapy.
Rhythm and coherence
“This home is a product of 20 years of saving and
planning,” says Laurie Stein, 61, looking around the
space she shares with her husband, Henry Stein.
“I
commuted 90 miles round-trip for nearly 30 years,” she
continues. “And in all that time, my head was here,
working on this room and that room.”
Working
closely with Terry Brown
and Andrew Krzysiek of Zervas Group Architects,
and Schramer Construction, the couple made their
long-held dream a reality. The nearly 2,000-square foot
house north of Agate Bay is a blend of Frank Lloyd
Wright style infused with minimalist yet warm Japanese
touches.
Originally from the East Coast, the couple lived in San
Francisco before moving to Whatcom County in 2003. Their
previous homes were rentals; one hope for the first home
was a custom-made office where Henry, 75 and a
semi-retired psychotherapist, could run the Alfred Adler
Institutes of San Francisco and Northwestern Washington.
A
retired English teacher, Laurie often joins Henry in the
220-square-foot office to edit his writing. But her
favorite work spot is tucked in the outside corner of
the kitchen, framed by large window panes. She wanted
just a small desk for herself with a lovely view, and
uses the desk for bill-paying and correspondence.
A
bookshelf fills one office wall, while a built-in,
L-shaped desk lines two other planes. The fourth wall
houses a large closet with sliding doors that hide file
cabinets and supplies, as well as a cozy, oversized
window seat that functions as a bed for the couple’s
cats — and often for the couple themselves.
“At some
point in the day, I’m ready for a nap,” says Henry. “I
can take a nap with both kitties and Laurie. And when
you think you hear UPS come up, you can just look right
out the window to check.”
Henry is
on the phone much of the time, providing distance
learning for Adler scholars. “From 7 until noon, I’m
sitting here with a headset,” he says. “Then I do
editing, writing and publishing.” He recently finished
editing 12 volumes of the collected works of Alfred
Adler.
The
room’s basic design was Henry’s, because he knew how we
wanted it to flow. “I have one computer I use for being
on the phone, a different computer for Internet and
editing, and a Mac. I can just spin around to each one.”
According to architect Brown, one of the typical
problems of home design is whether the office should be
private or part of the household activities. “Henry and
Laurie wanted the office close to the front entry so
clients could reach it without being led through private
areas of the house,” he says. “Our solution was to tuck
the office behind the fireplace, a subtle shift creating
some visual privacy, while allowing access to the great
room.” A sliding door with frosted glass can provide
additional privacy.
“All the
design elements unite to achieve what the Steins
wanted,” Andrew Krzysiek adds. “An efficiently
multi-functional yet aesthetically appealing work
environment.”
The room
functions because it dovetails with Henry’s work style.
In fact, the entire home works for the couple because
they thought through every possible detail, and worked
with an architect who could interpret their needs into
the design.
“There’s
a rhythm and coherence throughout the house,” says
Laurie. “If you’re lucky enough to find the right
architect for you, he creates a work of art.”
Room for everything
For Bill and Peggy Warner, a trio of home offices in
their Lynden town home sure beats sharing. With a
variety of jobs and projects keeping this couple busy,
it’s necessary to maintain sanity-saving separate
spaces.
Bill,
63, is an information technology specialist at Western
Washington University, while Peggy, 58, works for
Western’s College of Business and Economics. From 8 to
5, Monday through Friday, that’s where you’ll find them.
Any other time? They’re ensconced in their private work
spaces.
Bill
might be preparing for a class he teaches at Mount Baker
Project Management Institute. Or conducting one of
several 10-week online courses through City University,
which take him to Europe and China for week-long
in-class teaching stints.
A
professional photographer, Peggy has also taught at
Whatcom Community College and Bellingham Technical
College. “My love is to be creative in Photoshop,” she
says, “I’ll take multiple photos and converge them into
a design.” Peg is also the secretary for the Board of
Cascade Christian Services and secretary of the couple’s
condo association, two roles that often require time in
her home office chair.
Married
for 13 years, the couple moved to Lynden from the Twin
Cities in 2001. “We downsized from 2,500 square feet to
1,100 square feet,” says Peggy. “But when we got the
teaching jobs, we had to have offices.” In 2004, they
moved just a few doors down, back up to 2,500 square
feet.
Bill’s
favorite office is a spacious deck off the main floor
living room. Weather permitting, he spreads out his
wireless laptop, telephone and research materials on a
sizable glass-covered table overlooking burbling
Fishtrap Creek below. Forest blankets the stone’s throw
space between home and water. “You can hear the salmon
when they start running up the stream,” says Peggy.
Bill’s
indoor office suite is on the home’s lower floor, also
overlooking the creek and vegetation. Mirrored closet
doors visually double the space. Down the hall, past a
stuffed-to-capacity bookshelf, is a row of tall file
cabinets. “I like the proximity to my files and books,”
Bill says. “I can get at everything.”
The path
to Peggy’s upper-floor office is lined with her framed
photographs. Multiple upstairs closets store supplies
and photography equipment. “It’s not luxurious or large,
just a place where a lot of work goes on,” Peggy says of
her perch.
Her
favorite aspect of the space? “Having room for
everything. I also appreciate having my privacy, so I
can concentrate on what I’m doing.”
“Peg is
more reflective, introspective and quiet, and I always
have my wheels turning, talking on the phone,” says
Bill. “We carpool most of the time and that 40-minute
drive keeps the communication going. Because once we get
home, she’s up to the third floor, and I’m down to the
first floor.”
Partly outside
When Rowan Moore-Seifred, 44, uprooted in 1994 from
Los Angeles and her job as art director for A&M Records,
she purposely landed in a practically polar opposite
place: a patch of land outside Everson. Rural life
wasn’t completely foreign; she grew up in an
agricultural area of British Columbia.
“People
were starting to talk about telecommuting as a viable
solution,” says the designer, who wanted to be wanted to
be closer to family, “and I just thought, ‘It’ll work.’
And it has.”
Discipline teamed with a stellar work space has
propelled Rowan’s company, Double M Ranch, to success.
She creates everything from product packaging and
marketing materials to websites and event posters.
Whatcom County clients, such as Mallard Ice Cream and
Bellingham Farmers Market pepper her portfolio, but she
also works with national and international firms. A
library of her book-cover designs lines a bookshelf in
her office.
“I get
up at 6:30 every morning, work until 8, go to the house
and get my daughter up and to school, and then come back
here and work.” Being her own boss means she’s always
available for Pearl, 9 and has the flexibility to do
what she wants during the day.
When she
made the move 14 years ago from metro to pastoral, Rowan
and her then-husband lived in a double-wide mobile home
parked on the property before moving into what is now
the main house, which originally served as her first
husband’s studio. Today that colorful 900-square foot
space is shared by Rowan, Pearl and second husband Mark
Seifred, 45 (who primarily resides in Abbotsford, B.C.,
where he cares for his father).
In 1997,
Rowan finished construction on a neighboring 16- by
24-foot building for her bright, airy, inspiring home
office.
“I just
built it,” she says. Friend and local builder Greg
Chapman gave Rowan, who had designed floor plans and
houses since she was a child, a few tips. “I got all the
windows cheap and just built it around that.”
Positioned high in the sunshine-hued space, the windows
serve two purposes: They keep direct sunlight off the
computer monitors and also give wide glimpses up and out
of trees and sky.
Rowan’s
design work peeks out through the room, showcasing her
clean, often retro-tinged style. The centerpiece of the
room is a Vandercook letterpress, which Rowan uses to
find design inspiration.
Above
the letterpress, as much for function as aesthetics,
hangs a long, squat wood piece dotted with cubbyholes.
Unearthed at a Blaine junk store for a mere $20, it
holds the fonts for the letterpress and serves as a
shallow display shelf.
On nice
days, Rowan flings open the doors at each end of the
long room. “I like that feeling that I’m partly
outside,” she says. “I get a big breeze blowing through,
knocking all the papers off the desk.”
Stacee Sledge is a
Bellingham
freelance writer.
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