Say goodbye to the kitchen computer corner, that little wedge of desk and shelves squeezed between cooking prep spaces or cabinets. The popularity of the computer room, the most recent incarnation of the home office, is on the uptick. Homeowners once again want their work lives separated from their home lives by designating a room specifically for computer usage, according to the results of window and door manufacturer Jeld-Wen’s Real Estate Agent Community Trends (REACT) survey.
The company asked real estate agents across the country what types of rooms their clients would want for a new home. Computer rooms and home office spaces topped the list of desirable rooms, with 93 percent of agents reporting their buyers wanted these rooms.
“Computers have become such big parts of our daily lives that a separate, private room to use a computer has taken over for the traditional den,” says Jeld-Wen spokesperson Darcie Meihoff. “The increasing number of people who run a business from home and perform work functions like return email and make phone calls has made a computer room/home office almost a necessity.”
Uses for the home computer have grown to the point that containing them all in a permanent spot in the kitchen has become impossible. Keeping the computer separate from other home functions also removes potential distractions, which can improve concentration and productivity. A room sufficiently remote from the hustle and bustle of daily life, but not so remote that parents can’t keep an eye on the kids, is an ideal spot for the computer room, Meihoff says.
Brad Hosmar, product development director for Beaverton, Ore.-based Arbor Custom Homes, notes that many of his company’s clients prefer home networks that will accommodate multiple computers—one set up in a designated computer room or den and the others located in children’s rooms or in media rooms.
Hosmar says that one or both parents usually have full possession of the computer room, particularly if either of them work from home even part-time. Most of Arbor’s homes have a minimum of three computer connections throughout the house.
Jeld-Wen’s survey identified several other types of rooms that are in demand with homebuyers. The full details of the survey will be revealed at a press conference at the International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 13.
