Home office downsized

In a game of "Clue," the dastardly deed might take place in the study.

That shuttered, dark-paneled room housed the leather chair, massive desk and ceiling-high bookshelves. It was the hub of a business transaction, a penned letter, quiet reading and the occasional fat cigar and snifter of brandy.

You might call it the genteel, throwback version of the home office.

Fast-forward to the present day, and you'll find the modern homeowner paying bills on a computer anywhere in the house, contacting clients and family alike from any room, and reading text on a hand-held screen no larger than a lightweight paperback.

What happened? Technology cleaned house. Realtors, builders, interior designers and homeowners are noticing.

The one-room home office has all but disappeared.

Omahan Nicole Vossen said her custom-built home in the Ridges has an office with a desk where she pays her bills, but the room gets more use as an extension of the family room.

"We use it (the office) for arts and crafts stuff, homework and computer games," Vossen said.

In more and more new homes, a "drop zone" is replacing the home office. That's an area specifically built with enough plugs to recharge the cell phones, cameras, laptops and other devices that allow homeowners to complete "office" tasks wherever they happen to be. The drop zone may have mail slots and places to stash keys and other things that many times cause clutter on kitchen counters.

That makes the dedicated home office far less important than it used to be, said Malibu Homes co-owner Willie Douglas, who built the home the Vossens moved into about three months ago.

"You may have a small desk area, but there's no need for a 12-by-12 or 13-by-13 office" or the furniture it once held, he said.

"Less is more today. People would rather have less space and more amenities. They want more access (for high-tech devices) throughout the house. That is, they want to use multiple areas of the home in the way one area used to be used."

To accommodate that, furniture makers have wisely retooled nightstands and other items with discreetly hidden connections for computers and other technological devices.

Writing desks and modular desks, as well as other parts that can be configured to fit consumer tastes and space, are replacing the large, traditional office desks found in that "Clue"-era study. Fewer desks are being made with a slot for a large computer and monitor.

Now furniture fits the function, said Mark Hamilton, director of marketing for the Nebraska Furniture Mart.

A dresser may have pull-outs to hold a laptop computer or keyboard. A row of electrical plug-ins may be mounted behind the dresser, or as with many nightstands, under a hinged lid that matches the furniture.

Beth Settles, an interior designer with Interiors Joan and Associates, said her clients also no longer want a desk area in the kitchen.

"In new homes, they're not putting it in. And they're removing it in remodeling," Settles said.

Clients still want a designated area to organize things such as important documents, or a place to take a late-night call without disturbing the household, but "we're not tied to a big computer or a desk as much," she said.

The armoire — a massive wooden storage piece for video and sound components — is another casualty in many home offices or family rooms.

"Now more TVs are hung on the wall or stand on a low cabinet that houses other electronic items. The big entertainment cabinet isn't necessary," Settles said.

Unlike the armoire, the drop zone that's replacing all this furniture is usually nothing fancy, and it's more important to a younger homeowner than an older one, said Jennifer Hellman, a Prudential Real Estate agent in Omaha.

"The older generation wants the traditional setup and paper storage. The younger generation is not as concerned because they have such mobility with an iPad, cellphone and so forth," she said.

And, as with most trends, the change is taking place gradually.

Builders like T. Hurt Construction have seen a changeover in the last five years as cellphones and anything wireless entered more homes, said Sara Lorenz, a design manager for the company.

"People need the portability option. They want their cable and charging stations where it's convenient."

For the Vossens, that's near the door to the garage.

It's handy. It's a place for coming and going.

And, as in a game of "Clue," the drop zone is where the action is.

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