Workstation Design Principle

The New Thinking About Home Design

The age of technology has radically changed how we live. While the living room used to be a room designed for relaxing and socializing, it is mostly used as a TV room today. While the TV was previously our principle source of home entertainment and the telephone are means of communication, in many homes today every member of the family has a laptop or a PC. These lifestyle changes have led to changes in how architects and designers view the family home.

In order to make the communal living space a ‘living room’ again, many architects now leave out the walls that formerly separated the kitchen from the dining room and the dining room from the living room. All that defines the kitchen as a separate area is a peninsular raised breakfast bar. This innovation has been enthusiastically embraced by homeowners who can now be part of the activities going on in the rest of the communal living area.

Similarly, the only thing that defines a dining area as being meant for dining is the inclusion of a dining table. By making it part of the larger living area, it becomes ideal for entertaining. After sharing a meal together at the table, the guests are free to disperse to other parts of the house without either feeling crowded or isolated.

There was once a time when having a study in the home was a luxury. Now every member of the household often needs a separate study area. Since it is impractical to have several studies in one home, the most logical solution is to include enough space in the bedrooms for a computer and a work station or desk.

Architects are now designing larger bedrooms that include space for a good sized corner workstation. Furniture designers have come up with innovative and stylish variations on work stations that make them far more than just ‘computer desks.’ You can have a work station that resembles an executive desk, a unit that includes bookshelves and an entertainment center or even one that looks like an antique armoire when the doors are closed.

Having a generous sized bedroom makes it possible to have everything you could possibly need in your bedroom, including a king sleigh bed if you like. In smaller bedrooms, you have to give up one thing in order to get another. If you want a large bed, you have to settle for a tiny computer desk. If you need a large work area, you have to make do with a smaller bed. In many new homes, compromises like these are things of the past.

Sleigh beds are more popular with adults than with young children. Furniture designers have taken the standard twin bed and put it on stilts to create the loft bed. This brilliant innovation adds several useful square feet of floor space to a child’s bedroom – space that can be used for storage or a desk.

It’s about time that architecture and interior design caught up with the internet age. If you are just ‘making do’ and shifting your laptops around from room to room, think about taking advantage of the new architecture and design innovations.