The days of sticking a computer station anywhere in the house with an outlet are numbered at least for some of The Drees Co. homeowners. They can forget the work station in the family room, the kitchen, or even the living room. Chief architect Bill Spears designed a home for the Kentucky-based builder that allows buyers the option of putting a computer center in a separate nook half a floor above the kitchen.
Moving the computer out of an in-your-face location’ is a response to buyers’ evolving demands . It is not the first thing you see in the room, Spears says.
Although many new homes boast a computer workspace, usually relegated in an alcove on the second floor, Spears’s take on the workstation in the company’s Barrington includes a scissor stairway off the kitchen. The flight of stairs is divided in half by a sizeable landing with a private but accessible space for the computer desk.
“What we’re trying to do now with these kinds of features is to put them in more private use spaces that are not quite so visual, Spears says. Once they actually started using these spaces, people realized you need a little bit of privacy. You want to be able to check on your kids without really checking.
The model also features a formal living room and dining room on the first floor, as well as a master bedroom suite and a guest room that could be used as a home office. The second floor has three bedrooms, a game room, and a Jack-and-Jill bathroom.
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