shamwari Photo 5. Lovely office, super computer on the desk. Do you have to stand up to use it? No office chair. Staging at it's most impractical,

Paul D'Amico - Period Design who wants to commute to work with an office like one of these. I can just picture myself unshaven, wearing my bathrobe, feet up and reading the newspaper. Clients? only by email please.

Jean Corey I like all of these! To me being home is all about comfort combined with interesting beauty, even if you are busily working. I love the walk in storage nook in photo 18; what a good idea.

54cass i like all of them. however, photo number 2 has my vote because i could pop in right this sec. with no changes.

typingmonkey key ingredient: books

Belman Living LLC I really liked the fourth picture. The room is really cozy and the office space doesnt occupy too much of the room. All you need is a nice corner. The wood work is really good and the books also are arranged well, they are not all over the place. Overall all pictures are good and have their own unique decor. Thanks for sharing.

Sigrid So many of these look like living rooms with a desk tucked in a corner. In most of them, space for files was conspicuously missing. The reason I have a separate office is so that my living room isn't filled with files and my desk with work to do isn't making me feel guilty when I want to relax.

While I like to look at pretty pictures, unfunctional rooms don't offer much inspiration.

simps214 I found all these offices really appealing and its interesting to see such different work environments--I'm used to the ubiquitous neutral toned ones at work.

I also disagree that these spaces aren't be functional just because they are clean. Some people work better in a tidy office just like some cooks need a tidy kitchen. If I had an office that looked like those I'd take care of it too.

Paul D'Amico - Period Design Have you ever worked in one of these? I have. My colleagues and I concluded that the windows could not be opened to prevent us from jumping out. I find that in an almost paperless office you don't need all that filing storage, the nature of communication has changed and thus offices can be designed differently.

Firm name Wow, photo 12 lovely work place. I would like to work in such apartments!)

A. Peltier Interiors WONDERFUL inspiration! I just turned my dining room into my home office because I was running out of space and have yet to 'decorate' it. This article came at the perfect time:)

Christine Life in a modern world is sooo beautiful. So many different ways to change our perspective and our views in to our own lives. My wish is that everyone gets an opportunity to come home to "something". Be it a home office, a cozy reading nook, a new sofa that you can stretch out on, a fabu kitchen, a lovely colorful backyard, even a small apartment that is tricked out nicely. Bon chance to you all here on Houzz.

momof5x I like the storage idea in Going Home to Roost photo and I have already saved the office by Nicole Lanteri. I don't have a large space or room for an office yet I do a lot of work and I write, so these two are thinking of storage ideas within a small space, thus my choice.

My office ( in my new home) will have family photos on the wall in front of desk, and a couple of slim wall shelves on either side of desk for files, pencil holders, storage baskets etc..

Becky Harris Paul, I've worked in some of those. Two of them did not have ANY windows, so it was even worse.

Erica Benson All great ideas! Can't decide which one I like the most.

Paul D'Amico - Period Design Well Becky, the good thing about not having windows was that the only exit for you was through the door. I took that option too.

astraea For everyone with a totally "paperless" lifestyle, I hope you never have a wide-spread catastrophe in your area - like Hurricane Sandy - where you have no power or internet service for a couple of weeks .. and therefore have no access to any of your own records!

angeldog These are beautiful work spaces, but a little frustrating...where are the wires and computers? I'm in the process right now of remodeling, and one of the rooms serves as our home office. We are as wireless as possible when it comes to the components, but there are still wires to be hidden. Any suggestions as to hiding the wires, especially when the desk isn't right against a wall? I noticed in one of the photos, the desk was placed away from the wall which is what I'll be doing....but, again there is no computer there. Please give suggestions if you have them! thank you :)

Teri Ahlm I would LOVE for my home office to look like photo #11. That green grasscloth with the white - and that CHAIR! Swoon...

Casart Coverings Becky, great examples! I like being surrounded by books but more in my living room because I also need an anti-cluttered, counter-free and light-looking space to work. Working in small older homes can be difficult trying to get around the radiator. Although I'd love to have a space more like #17 & #20, my office is closest to #15, however, I've used the radiator to my advantage. I build a box frame around it, enclosed it with a metal screen in front to allow the heat out and incorporated the top as an extra shelf. No space goes to waist this way.

To Paul's comment about cubical-like space in (corporate) work environments, I just saw this article that you may find interesting about the Toronto "How do you work?" Interior Design Show: http://www.interiordesignshow.com/Feature%20Exhibits/how-do-you-work . I recognized one of the first photos from a Houzz ideabook! Also, this article about the future style of potential Popup office spaces is also interesting -- no windows because a shipping container but seems well lit from above: http://soyouknowbetter.com/2013/02/05/office-of-the-future-popup-pallet-modular-shipping-container/

Toronto Designers Love the nook by Nicole Lanteri. So cozy and perfectly sized for a little home office!

smathison The nice thing about a home office is that you can combine it with other living functions as space permits and to meet multiple needs. Combining library and office functions is a nice touch if you don't have the space to separate those functions. My home office is in a bedroom with a closet converted for concealed storage (including printer and other electronics) and I am lucky enough to have a dedicated library!

swizzlecomm Many of these are gorgeous, but impractical. My husband and I both work out of our house, and I'm always looking for new ideas for office space. Only one office with a printer/scanner/fax. Many of these don't even have a computer. Some have computers that are clearly not plugged in. Don't see any phones either. You can't run a business from home on a cell phone alone.

Would love to see some home offices that are true, functioning home offices complete with all the technology and supplies that are part of daily life. Not just staged offices.

Dana Veach This was full of lovely ideas, Becky...thanks! Photo #13, from Jute Interior Design is my personal favorite...though it would quickly become cluttered with fabric, paint, and paper for a much more colorful melange. Still...the "order" of these calm natural textures calls to my soul!

hillonthehouse Number 3 speaks volumes to me. ;-) But I consider this more a library than an office. Of course, there could be a desk/work space in there, but it's not shown.

calkelley love the coffered ceilings! I think it's just what my library needs for that rich, warm comfort. In a house where all ceilings are at least 12 ft high, it would bring a coziness to the room. I also like the deep crown molding as well as the chalkboard paint. Thanks for the idea!

calkelley Like A. Peltier Interiors, this book came at the perfect time, Becky. I finally cleaned all the boxes from our move (months ago) out of the office and now have to get it designed! A little bit of this, a little of that - am certainly adding a higher end plug-in fireplace. esp as I hate the pollution of the real thing :-(

Kathy Metzler Where are the wires? I see all kinds of desks sitting in he middle of the room with computers and lamps but no wires. I love a desk in the middle but I recently had to change my office around because of the WIRES! no plugs in the middle of the room either. Unrealistic and probably not used for working from home maybe bill paying household stuff. They are beautiful, but when I think home office, I think work, and yes tidy is nice but if you need it to function there are only a few that would work. I love the three workstation office that I could work in.

Becky Harris Wires make for ugly pictures. Dangling wires in interior design shots are like giant pimples on supermodels in fashion magazine. Savvy stylists get them out of the way before taking photographs. Personally, I had holes drilled into a long built-in desk in my office so that I can drop the wires from lamps and computer equipment down to outlets below and out of site, instead of having several feet of them mussing up my desktop. I keep my printer and scanner down there - hidden within easy reach but not hogging up desk space.

Also, many offices have unsightly items like printers and scanners tucked into built-in cabinets and closets, and computers can communicate with them wirelessly. Many people have gone to paperless billing, records, etc. and use storage in the cloud, eliminating the need for all of that extra paper storage in their offices. I'm still a little wary of the cloud myself - maybe someday I'll trust it and no longer need a filing cabinet!

Dona Rosene Interiors Very nice examples! Here is one I just added from my Frisco Project.javascript:;

jkristamagee We were just hit with an e f4 tornado unsay afternoon - that night I was out helping my community pick up their lives (what's left) when a younger couple started to converse on the subject of "paperless". They didn't really know how they would pay their bills the next day which they were apparently due- anyway that was just the first time I ever realized that going completely paperless or vise Vera probably is not the greatest idea- I am neither - I mean that may be the one thing I hoard- I literally have every piece of paper the military ever gave me -

lisatc The green and white office is lovely. My home office is very similar but not as stylish! All my "ugly supplies" are kept in the cabinets underneath while my files are kept in coloured upright boxes for easy access. I will be painting and papering this weekend! Astraea - why so negative? Surely something about design must keep you coming back - you certainly visit/comment on a regular basis...

ModernistLighting.com The Morrocan ceiling lights are a pleasant surprise. http://www.ModernistLighting.com

joycefl6 Becky, I worked in an office with no windows also -- for an airline! We found a poster of a window w/ venetian blinds and an aircraft heading right into it!! It stayed up for years!