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There’s nothing like a Zoom video call to reveal a work-at-home life. A cramped, jumbled background. Bad lighting. Distracting noises. Improvised everything. The view begs, “I need a home office!”

That silent cry has been uttered in tens of thousands of households the last few months, especially by parents who need a quiet and organized space to focus on work. According to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, 42% of the U.S. labor force is working full-time from home. The need for home offices has never been greater.

Homebuilders, remodelers, and installation contractors take note … the category is hot.

Just ask senior cabinetry design pro Lorine Guido. The acclaimed designer works for The RTA Store, one of the nation’s top online cabinet merchants. In recent months she has worked on scores of home office configurations for nearly any room size and shape. Her rapidly expanding gallery of projects reflects a marketplace attune to the new work-at-home reality.

What insights has Guido learned from the last six months? What are working homeowners looking for in a home office? What takeaways could benefit your business? A few observations:

1. Speed wins. Even if you’re booked with other projects, suggesting a home office – or even a second office – could be an easy way to add project dollars. “Homeowners want it now. They can’t wait for the Spring,” says Guido.

2. Minimal budget pushback. “People really don’t associate home offices with a certain price point,” reports Guido. “I often hear, ‘I have this space, I need an office. What can you do to help?’ People are surprisingly open-minded about home office cabinetry quotes.”

3. Think doubles and triples, not singles. Guido says she is seldom asked to design a one-person office. “When I think of all the offices I’ve designed recently, I can think of only one instance where I designed a single. It’s always workstations for two or more people,” the designer says.

4. Keep it simple. Homeowners aren’t looking to make a design statement with home office cabinetry. “It’s a utility. You can expect cabinet color and style in the kitchen. Not the home office. We’re still in the white shaker phase there,” she says.

5. Home office island. Guido says a variation on the popular kitchen island is becoming more common in home office spaces. “Home schooling kids with an island is particularly effective and convenient,” The RTA Store designer reports. “It’s a natural place to gather and work on school projects.”

The winning part for homebuilders, remodelers, and installation contractors is the seasoned, expert eye Guido brings to every project. She specializes in working closely with high-volume contractors, delivering presentation-quality plans and quotes with speed and precision.

Her design fee is easy to take, too. Guido’s project support is a free service of The RTA Store.

Learn more on how to increase project sales and profits with no-cost home office design support and savings of up to 50% on ready-to-assemble cabinets.

Brought to you by The RTA Store