The challenge: Susan Misterek bought her 1941 Tudor-style house in Roseville with plans to renovate and update it as soon as she could.
One goal of the extensive renovation was to create a home office. Misterek, who often works from home, has knee discomfort, so an office on the main floor was a priority. She wanted it to be flooded with light, comfortable all year long and to have easy access to the backyard, for letting her dogs out.
The team: Architect Joy Martin, Joy Martin Architecture, joyarchitecture.com. The contractor was Quality Cut Remodelers, qualitycut.net, and structural engineer was Mattson Macdonald Young, mattsonmacdonald.com, with interior design by Allison Landers, allisonlandersdesignstudio.com.
The solution: The house had a three-season porch finished with indoor-outdoor carpet, dark-stained cedar paneling and single-pane windows — but it was not insulated and had no heat. "It was cold and drafty, and had just been used for storage," Martin said.
The porch was not suitable for a year-round office in its original condition. Martin's plan was to tear it down to the studs and rebuild a 135-square-foot home office/sunroom on the original concrete foundation, which was in good condition.
Let there be heat. Martin added a Mini-Split HVAC unit, as well as electric in-floor heat to keep the office and the gray porcelain floor tile warm in the winter. "You had to step down into the old porch, so we created a flush entry from the living room to the home office," she said.
Desk set: Martin proposed a built-in desk that spans the length of the rear wall. The 12-foot-long custom desktop is walnut, and the file cabinets and drawers are white enameled wood.
"You can never have too much flat space," Misterek said. "There's room for two computer work areas and a printer" — plus plenty of electrical outlets for charging and computer connections to support an office setup.
