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Article 2: Design Trends In Home Offices
The year’s design trends in the home are moving
toward the soft, comforting and cozy, and the
more traditional. The same can be said of home
offices, and furniture makers are responding.
Sligh Furniture’s Ellis Line of computer
cabinets delivers the look of upscale
international furniture. The decorative wood
furniture ranges in style from classic Arts &
Crafts to West Indies, but features the
functionality and storage options home office
workers need.
Other manufacturers have introduced the
fashionable Mission style into home office
furniture. And retro is gaining popularity.
Tanker desks—those big, commercial metal
desks—are voyaging into home offices. Some
arrive in the original battleship gray. Others
come updated with a contemporary paint color.
From an organizational viewpoint, clutter is
out. Simplicity and balance are in. And
flexibility is king.
“Today’s home office needs are getting much more
sophisticated,” says Barry Galvin, owner of
Galvins Workspace Furniture in Oakland, Calif.
“There’s a new professionalism in the home
office. We’re seeing a need for more storage
options, more office equipment, even multiple
home workstations.”
Stanley Furniture alone offers 10 home office
groups that feature 20 to 25 pieces in each
group. They provide flexibility and options for
task-specific designs that will fit virtually
any home office space and style.
Techline’s Series 2 furniture is based upon a
system of building blocks of different sizes and
shapes. It all works together in countless ways
so you can define and redefine your space. Home
office workers welcome that type of modular
furniture because it delivers flexibility.
“Modular home office furniture works well for
many people,” says Jack Kelley, an industrial
designer and consultant with Sligh Furniture.
“You can start small and keep adding, utilize
corner space and even rearrange the layout.”
Adjustable-height tables and work surfaces are
also a hit with home office workers. Knape &
Vogt expanded its award-winning Idea@Work line
of office furniture with the addition of
patented Speed Crank tables, which let you raise
or lower the work surface by simply turning a
hand crank. The company also introduced UniForce
counter-balanced adjustable surfaces that allow
you to adjust the height of the work surface
with the simple touch of a lever. Herman
Miller’s Avio is a height-adjustable table
system that includes freestanding overhead
storage.
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