Whether it's the surge in work-at-home technology, the tricky economy, or the I-want-to-be-my-own-boss movement, home offices are on the rise, and more New Yorkers are finding that they like working just steps from their beds.
"People looking for apartments have become obsessed with finding one with another space that they can use as an office," says Clifford Finn, president of new development for Citi Habitats. Finn says home office spaces are high on New Yorkers' list of add-ons in new buildings.
Brenda MacLeish, a sales manager at California Closets, reports that over the past few years her company is busier than ever building "real" home office spaces for clients, "where they have access to everything they need for full-time work."
Here's a look at seven New Yorkers, all with very different professions, who have figured out how to combine their living and working space so that they can enjoy a 10-step commute:
Sherman, who is currently working on an opera, used to write music in the living room of her one-bedroom Washington Heights apartment, but it always felt "cluttered. I felt trapped."
She asked a friend for a solution: He built her a unit that runs the whole length of her living room wall. She has her computer, her piano keyboard, books - everything she needs in one spot.
"And when I'm finished working, I push the keyboard under the desk, slide the opaque panels over it and leave only the bookcases showing. My goal was to be able to put my work away and have a life."
In the studio half, he has created sculptures that are in the Metropolitan Museum collection, among many other works.
George is a voice-over professional who has done hundreds of documentaries and commercials.
Years ago, he spent his day going to auditions and recording studios. New technologies and the economy have changed all that. "Now if you can't record at home, you can't compete."
So George built a soundproof recording studio in the couple's bedroom. "I can record at home, edit it myself, and e-mail it right to the client."
With George's desk in the bedroom, where does the bed go? Into the wall they built a Murphy bed that they stash away by day and lower at night.
'If you don't address demand, you don't address the problem' Police are only addressing the supply, but demand is what fuels the illicit sex trade, experts say. Newsday political reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.
'If you don't address demand, you don't address the problem' Police are only addressing the supply, but demand is what fuels the illicit sex trade, experts say. Newsday political reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.
