In mid-March, Governor Newsom placed California on a virtual shutdown. At that time, non-essential workers found themselves either furloughed or sent to work from home. Those temporary work-from-home orders appear to be more long term now. In fact, some companies may never bring their employees back into a communal office. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that home office space holds a huge appeal to today’s home buyers. So, if you plan on selling your Ventura home anytime soon, your marketing needs to include a dedicated home office area.

Tips for Creating a Home Office Space

Guest Room/Office

A couple of months ago, we talked about creating a classroom space at home for your child. That included using part of their bedroom as a dedicated classroom area. While buyers love office space, hold off on completely transforming a guest room into an office. Bedrooms still help sell Ventura homes. Keep the closet available for hanging clothes. But feel free to add organizing units that include shelves to store office supplies and files. Use a smaller dining table for your desk rather than some heavy, oversized office furniture. Throw in a daybed or sofa bed to show buyers how the room could easily transition between an office and guest room.

Transform Unused Space Into Office Space

No bedroom to spare? Time to get creative then. Carve out space under the stairs. Utilize the loft as an office area. If even that proves difficult, borrow space from a large room (like the family room or dining room). Section it off with a pretty screen or partition. You don’t need a huge area to make an office space function.

Location is Key

The difficulty with creating a home office out of a common area like the dining or family room is that it can get noisy. If virtual meetings are a regular thing with your company, you need a quiet space. Try to choose an area of your home that sees little to no traffic but is still large enough to house your office essentials.

Don’t Forget Your Staging

Yes, staging your home office is equally important as staging the rest of your Ventura home when you list it on the market. Keep things neat and tidy. Tuck electrical cords out of sight. Turning your desk to face the entrance into the room makes it a little easier to hide messy cords. Add a houseplant, flowers or a nice area rug to bring color into your space. Keep your window treatments open to allow lots of natural light to flow inside. Declutter and depersonalize like you would any other room in your house.

Dave & Pat Zumbrun, your Ventura County real estate specialists