I’ve gotten so many requests to do a custom home office tour for you…so here it is!
This is Episode 2 of my brand new show, SPI TV. A new episode comes out every Friday, so please be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already. You can subscribe here on YouTube, or even as an iTunes Video Podcast.
I recommend you read the background story, however if you just want to watch the video, click here to go straight to YouTube.
Last year, my wife and I became brand new homeowners. It was a truly a huge moment for us because we had been renting ever since we were married (5 years), putting money aside each month so we could someday live in our dream home. It’s not a mansion or anything like that, but it was a new build, and definitely an upgrade from where we came from.
Our goals in selecting our new home were primarily related to our kids. We wanted a kid-friendly neighborhood with nearby parks and recreational areas, lots of other relatively young families, and a top-notch school district. Within the home, it was personally a goal of mine to have my own office that I could build from scratch in a way that was best suited for the kind of work that I do.
This is a quick video I sent to my designer to help give her an idea of the empty room we were working with, and some initial visions for what might be included within the space:
It was definitely a blank slate which was fun to work with, but that was also very challenging too. Over time, there were a number of design iterations, but the main direction was inspired by what I did for work and how I wanted the space to enhance that, which you’ll see in the video.
It was quite a trip working on the “other end” of the architectural world this time around. For years it was my job as an architect and drafter to serve clients who would hire us for design work, and this time around it was me who was hiring the designer. I think it made my designer’s life much easier because I could speak the language and easily read the elevations and plans for the space.
Here are a couple of wall elevations showing the near-final design drawings for the space.
West-facing wall:
North-facing (Street) wall:
And here is Episode 2 of SPI TV, and my walkthrough of my new space…
I definitely invested money into this space, comparable to that of buying a new car, however this is where my business is done within the home and I wanted to optimize my space and my work to become the most efficient person I could be.
Invested being the keyword here.
It’s definitely a contemporary, modern space as you can see, but I wanted the home office to look and feel entirely different from the rest of the home. When I walk in, I can truly check-in both physically and mentally to do the work I need to do, and when I leave the office I can close the door and check-out as well. This was very important to me because I’ve had issues separating work and personal life in the past. Since working in this office for a little less than a year now, I can definitely say it’s working for me and has paid off for sure.
With that said, I’m reminded of 2009 when I filmed my first home office tour which was in an apartment that my wife and I rented. It wasn’t anything fancy at all, and my office wasn’t even located in it’s own room – just a small corner next to the dining area.
You definitely do not need to have a huge fancy space and spend a lot of money in order to get work done and build a successful business. You just need to be able to have a space to take action and get what you need done, and at the very least be motivated when you get into that space and organized so you can focus less on cleaning up your area, and get immediately into the tasks you need to complete.
Resources from This Video:
- SPI TV Episode 1: How to Write a Book – The Secret to a Super Fast First Draft
- CCH Design, My Awesome Interior Designer (Vanessa Holliday)
- Heil PR-40 Podcasting Mic (affiliate link)
- Mic Flags from ImpactPBS.com
- Audimute SoundProofing
- Printer – HP Laserjet 1102w (affiliate link)
- ScanSnap Scanner (affiliate link)
- 5-Minute Journal
- Muse Brain Sensing Headband (affiliate link)
Thanks again for watching SPI TV! Please subscribe to the channel (Youtube/iTunes Video Podcast) for another episode coming at you next week. If you haven’t noticed already, this month’s SPI TV theme is centered on productivity. Next week, you’ll get my top 5 productivity tools and how I use them to maximize efficiency and increase overall output.
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Cheers, thanks so much again for your support and I look forward to another episode of SPI TV with you next Friday!
What About Your Work Space?
If you’d like to share an image of your workspace, or even just something cool that’s a part of it that you enjoy and would love to share, please leave a comment below with your picture embedded! You can upload pictures via the commenting system, Disqus. If your image does not show up right away, please give it a few minutes to show it – it takes time to upload to the servers. Looking forward to it!
