For most homeowners, a home office is just another room that’s outfitted with a desk, a chair, and their personal computers. For Sherry and her husband, their home office is one of the most important spaces, which is why they put a lot more effort into ensuring that their WFH space has the aesthetic they desire.
All in all, they spent around $9K to renovate and furnish their home office—the most expensive room in their reno, ratio-wise—and they have zero regrets. Here’s a peek into their home office and a breakdown of what they splurged on.
@uchify.sg “Portion your budget first, don’t overspend if you’re planning to sell right after the 5 years MOP.” Here’s a tip from a homeowner who spent under $40K for reno. 👏 🔗link in bio for the full article🔗 #hometour #fyp #sghome #interiordesign
The cost breakdown of their $9K home office
Some might baulk at the high price Sherry and her husband paid for their home office, but it’s not all that bad once the cost has been broken down into its elements.
Custom 8m-long table: $2,500
The centrepiece of the home office is a custom-made wooden table that wraps around almost the entirety of the room. At 8m long, this table cost $2,500 to construct and was added only at the eleventh hour.
“Initially, we wanted tables which have adjustable heights,” Sherry said. “But we thought that having a fixed and seamless surface that coils around the office would make the space look more premium.” The ends of the table were also rounded off to give it a neater look.
There were also cable management pockets added to the table to ensure that the wires were all kept tidy.
Another detail that we thought was particularly nifty is that a part of the table was designed to be removable so that the windows could be cleaned.
Glass sliding doors with black frames: $2,660
The glass doors are suspended from the ceiling, so the floor has no unsightly tracks.
Another expense that took up a hefty fraction of the budget was the glass sliding doors. Coming in at $2,660, the doors were chosen for a myriad of reasons. For one, the glass allows for the rest of the home to be drenched in sunlight, especially during the evenings. This space was supposed to be the site of the living room, after all.
It also helps to enclose the home office space and segregate it from the rest of the house. Being the site of the former living room, there was no door here in the original layout, and a diagonal wall takes up less space than a typical L-shaped wall would’ve.
However, Sherry was not 100% satisfied with the end product, mainly with the grouting, joinery, and door handles. She advised homeowners who are looking to get a similar design to carefully consider how the door handles would feel and to ensure that the skirting of the door frame matches the skirting on the walls.
Other expenses including chairs, lights, fan & wall partition: $3,060
Even though the major elements of the home office have been squared away, the rest of it—chairs, accessories, ceiling fan, and lights—were also a substantial part of the total cost. The chairs alone, Hinomi H1 Pros, were around $600 each, while the magnetic track lights and smart fan were $963 and $349 respectively.
They also factored in the creation of the top partition wall by the door ($550) in these costs as well.
In total, these accessories amounted to about $3,060.
Designing a home office with custom tables & glass doors for $9K
A home office is a luxury for many to have, and Sherry and her husband made the most out of the opportunity they were given. The configuration also worked out in their favour, as Sherry preferred to have a wall—which is a canvas for her DIY calendar—while her husband wanted a window with a view to look at during breaks.
You can find out more about Sherry’s home renovation journey on her Lemon8 and Instagram.
Here’s what you need to know if you’re thinking about making your own home office:
- Standing desks vs sitting desks—Which is better?
- Is the Herman Miller Embody chair worth it?
- 10 cool home office ideas you’d want to WFH forever
Photography by Brad Lee.
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