“CUSTOM ORDER THE PERFECT SET”
MIDI &
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1365 Ottawa St.
790-7771
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b r e a k i n g n e w s a t L EA D ER P O ST . C O M S ec t i o n F
S at u r day, M a r c h 9, 2013
Home offices tucked into a tiny pocket Closet-sized workspaces do the job Patrick Langston Postmedia News They sound cute as a button, but they’re becoming serious business in the modern home. Pocket offices — attractive and ultraefficient workspaces tucked into kitchen alcoves, popped into unused closets and slid beneath stairs — are all the rage when it comes to maximizing space in busy households. Thanks to technolog y (think laptops, iPads and keychain memory sticks with vast data capacity), we no longer need acres of space for children’s homework or to log a couple of hours after dinner on that all-important office project. “Portable is what’s happening. You don’t need a dedicated space like a den anymore,” says Cheryl Adams, senior designer at the Ottawa branch of California Closets, which creates custom spaces, including pocket offices. Now everyone shares the same, smaller space — presumably without too much squabbling about who gets it when. In fact, the U.S.-based National Association of Home Builders last year noted the rise of pocket offices and the demise of the little-used den as a major trend. The little guys, it seems, are cropping up everywhere, from kitchen pantries to great rooms. Observers note that, in the
Courtesy California Closets
A custom-designed office tucked under a stairwell.
Christian Lalonde/Photolux Studio
Doors on this tiny home office allow the space to appear as kitchen cabinetry when closed. United States, in addition to the miniaturization of technology, a long-depressed economy has meant smaller houses and the growth of multi-generational homes where multiple generations live under the same roof. That means less space for non-essentials such as fullscale home offices.
Canada’s economy and housing market didn’t suffer the same depredations, but builders and many designers report growing interest in pocket offices. “I’d estimate 60 to 65 per cent of our buyers want something like this,” says Christine Marsala of Ottawa-based Tamarack Homes.
Kitchens and lofts are especially popular for pocket offices, she says. Some buyers have even had the main- or second-floor laundry room relocated to the basement and converted the laundry room into compact office space. Courtesy Luxurious Living Studio
See pocket, F5
Plenty of cubbies and shelving make this office functional.
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CENTURY 21 Dome Realty Inc.
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