What a work-from-home space should cost: Converted attic, garden office or spare room

The pandemic has changed the world of work forever. A shift to home working that was taking decades happened overnight. Working from home, at least partially, is here to stay. So how can you adapt your home to make it work?

You probably don’t miss the commute, but you probably miss the separation of work and home. Circumstances forced us to deal with competing work and family priorities in ways that have made our homes chaotic and left us depleted. But when normality returns, with more permanent home working an option, creating a dedicated workspace can pay dividends for our health, our productivity and even the value of our homes.

Reconfigure

At the very least, your home office space should be separated from your living and sleeping quarters and provide some sense of finishing work at the end of the day. Having the fridge in your line of sight, or your bed, isn’t helpful. The good news is you don’t need a massive budget to achieve it, just some lateral thinking. The cheapest and fastest way to a home office is to rethink what you have.

“You should identify what areas or rooms in your house aren’t being used and how you could adapt those,” says Michael Frain of Bright Designs architects. A good declutter and a skip bag can reveal hidden possibilities. A space as small as two feet deep and four feet wide can be enough to accommodate someone working on a laptop. This can be found at the end of a hallway, under the stairs or by sectioning off part of the main living area. A current project for a Dublin 12 client has optimised the landing, says Frain.

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“It’s a typical former Dublin Corporation house. We are putting on an extension at the back and this creates a space at landing level. By putting a roof light into the landing, you are brightening the main circulation space and also carving out a little nook that can be used as a home office.”

The end of a corridor is something Frain has repurposed in his own home. “There used to be a chair there. We’ve taken it out and put in a very simple bench.” In such a nook, the wooden bench provides a streamlined desk. Feature shelving rising to ceiling height and a funky pendant light transforms the space. “It varies from house to house, but there are nooks and spaces that can definitely be used.” Money saved on building costs can be spent on bespoke built-in furniture that you love. Having a clearly designated home working space will enable buyers to envisage how they can work there too.

In a recent project in Dublin 6, a home office was accommodated in a small space between two rooms; off the open plan living area. “It has a door that folds back with an office space behind it, so when you finish work, you can close the door. There is a switch-off in your mind,” says Frain. The yellow door is a feature in itself, full height with circular cut outs that let light in. “For a lot of people now it’s more living at work than working from home. If we can get the office into a small space that can be closed off, that’s my preference.”

Putting up a stud wall with a door can be done fairly inexpensively, he says. “What you really need is a general handyman. You don’t want to have to bring in a separate electrician, plasterer and carpenter.” Their availability at the moment however is tight. A home office carved out of your home’s existing footprint can cost a couple of thousand euros as opposed to tens of thousands.

Guest room

With homes bursting at the seams, homeowners should question the wisdom of a dedicated guest room. Count the number of times a guest has stayed and the folly becomes clear. Looking at your house objectively is key. “You can become set in the way you see rooms being used, or you put a label on a room,” says Frain. “It’s quite easy for an architect to come in and not be as precious about these labels and to see the potential for them to be used quite differently.” Frain has removed those blinkers to revamp his own home in which he says the guest room had become a dumping ground.

“We have taken out the bed that was just sitting there in the middle of the floor and we are putting in a Murphy bed . We’ve got a collapsible desk that can be taken apart into three pieces and hung on the wall. A floor socket powers the laptop,” he says. “Now its more of a multipurpose room. It’s a dressing room, a home office and a guest bedroom. It’s about introducing that flexibility.”

Attack the attic

The attic can provide a relatively budget-friendly home office, depending on its layout. It certainly ticks the separation box. Another advantage is you typically don’t need planning permission, provided any roof lights, like Velux windows, are not to the front.

“You are looking at €20,000 to get stairs up to the space and finishing it out, including electrics,” says Cork-based quantity surveyor and chartered surveyors, Karl Slyne. Roof lights, while relatively cheap, will require scaffolding to install them, adding cost. He advises engaging an engineer to ensure the space is fully compliant with fire regulations. If it isn’t, in addition to the risk, expect hassle if you sell. Houses in estates that are 15 to 20 years old often have truss roofs which can be more problematic to convert, though not impossible. “Generally, there are ways around it. You might have to introduce steel or temporary propping. Add another €2,000 to €4,000 to deal with it.”

Getting stairs into the attic will mean eating into the space of existing rooms, however, says Frain. “The starting point is always what height is up there. You don’t want to be spending a lot of money to feel you have to crawl into your workspace. You want to be able to get up, walk around and stretch out.” The second thing is space for the staircase. “Eight times out of 10, you would have to take space off one of the other bedrooms and that can have a knock on effect. You are potentially losing to gain.” If the house is not your forever home and you intend to sell, make sure you have the proper building certificates. An attic conversion can make your home more appealing to buyers, but depending on the scale and quality of the conversion, you may not make your money back. Family buyers may also prefer bedrooms to be on the same floor.

Take it outside

An extension to the rear is a usual way to add more space, but putting your separate office there messes with direct access to the garden valuable in a kitchen-dining-living area. Building an extension solely for an office is rare. Costing a minimum of €2,000 per sq m, it is also expensive. It is more likely those needing more space overall will extend, re-jigging internal space to accommodate an office.

The other office option is a structure in the garden. For new-build standalone houses, Slyne says the trend is towards building a multipurpose home office/garage. “Rather than your standard garage for a lawnmower, it’s a nicer building, well-insulated for a bit of architectural feature to it rather than something stuck in the corner of the garden.” Cost-wise, the cheapest would be €1,500 per sq m says Slyne. “You’d only really need 15-20 sq metres. By the time you put in some windows and a door and some reasonably good insulation, including electrics, it’s probably €25,000-€30,000.”

Suburban gardens are mostly small and irregularly shaped, says Frain. “It’s best if you can build something that fits into a nook, then you don’t actually have to take a huge amount out of the garden.” Such a structure can accommodate an office with a separate part for the lawnmower and other items. “A lot of people have the six by four garden shed with everything thrown into it and you can’t access anything. With cupboards lined up against a wall, you can access everything straight away. It’s much more usable.”

While building something bespoke is more expensive, a structure that comprises a home office, a shed and perhaps an awning for a barbecue, will give you greater return for your money and in usability. You can build a structure in the garden of up to 25 sq m without planning permission. You need to have at least 25 sq m of garden remaining. “I’d be surprised if anyone needs more than that for an office and a shed,” says Frain.

Another option is a modular built garden studio, with a plethora of companies popping up to service demand. “They will put down a concrete base, and put the structure on top of it. It’s cheaper than block work,” says Slyne. Prices for a timber structure begin at €15,200 for the smallest 12sq m size, with electricity and broadband cabling extra depending on their length. Pricier options will incorporate a shed. Could it add value to your home? Well, house builder Cairn has offered a garden pod option to new home buyers at some of its west Dublin developments with prices starting at €20,000.

Whatever route you go, prepare to wait. Home working in some form is here to stay, and builders and garden-room providers are struggling to keep pace with the demand.