Roth oversees multiple renovation projects at once, so she’s either routinely hunched over a screen or reviewing paperwork for a site. “I love a good printer—I’m one of those people who still likes to print everything,” she jokes. As the time passed, though, she realized how uncomfortable and impractical it was to continue to work in her makeshift office. It was necessary to devise a better solution, while still leaning into the flexibility she had unwittingly adopted. “Like everyone, my husband Brett and I are making it work,” she says of the home she shares with him and their daughter Hazel in Huntington Beach, Calif. “I feel like everyone is embracing multi-functional rooms, and for us, that meant carving out an office for me in our game room.” The game room had been home to the shuffleboard table the couple built years ago, which stood as a fixed object amidst Hazel’s toys. Roth felt that a wall in a corner of the space could act as a backdrop to a stylish-yet-functional workstation. “I love color and I wanted to use pops of it in this design, but I wanted to start with a neutral base,” she says. A wide, white desk became that anchor, and she and Brett arranged it until they found an ideal spot. “The easiest thing to do would have been to put the desk facing the wall, but we thought it was best to avoid that,” she says. “When we put it perpendicular to the wall, it felt like it best defined the space.” Matching midcentury filing cabinets were placed against the wall to create an L-shape, as well as a landing pad for a printer, and a coordinating chair was brought in to complete the area. “What a difference a comfortable chair makes,” she says. Roth used accessories to add texture, color, and a bit of fun to the design. She introduced plants, colorful folders, and bowls that corral odds and ends (including the chips on her desk!). The open shelving gallery wall of family photos and the faux cowhide rug were already part of her home, but these features made the office feel even more intentional. “Construction in general is stressful, so it’s nice to look over and see my friends and family,” she says. “It’s always good to bring in a personal touch.” Roth also considered one major detail that differentiates working in an actual office from working at home. “Lighting is usually harsh in offices, while at home, it can be too dark,” she says. “When you’re staring at a screen or looking at documents all day, that can strain your eyes and affect your mood. So I spent a lot of time troubleshooting the lighting in this area, and there are various options above and around me.” Roth sourced the light fixtures and several other details in the room from Staples, and she worked with them on a TikTok video documenting the space’s transformation. As it turns out, the office space Roth outfitted in her home didn’t end up being a major project, and that’s why she hopes it inspires other dining-room-desk-dwellers to tackle similar upgrades. “Just taking the time to figure out the furniture, layout, and organization has really improved my productivity,” she says.
