We Sat Down with Dayton Business Journal to Talk About The Future of Home Offices & More
A few months ago, Founder and Principal Architect of Springhouse, Sheri Scott, sat down with Hannah Poturalski of Dayton Business Journal to get the scoop on how we’ve been operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of home offices, and Springhouse Structures. Keep scrolling to read more!
Dayton Business Journal: You recently started Springhouse Structures—the construction arm of your business. Tell me more about this.
Sheri: It’s kind of exciting! In 2020, I started Springhouse Structures because one of our design clients asked if we could build her house. That was our first construction client, located in Morrow, Ohio. We were going to start our first spec home last fall, but with COVID, lumber prices became crazy—I decided to put that on hold, because it was a pretty significant project. All that being said, our plan is to be the builders for the clients who hire us to design their homes. We will also develop our own spec projects here and there.
Dayton Business Journal: Now, I remember you were going to be building an office for your own companies to move into together. What's the status with that?
Sheri: We are! Because of COVID, nobody's investing in office space—no one knows what to expect. That being said, we partnered with a local building owner and we’re renovating a warehouse space in downtown Springboro, which is super cool. It’ll have plenty of space, with one half completely dedicated to our construction arm.
Dayton Business Journal: What will some of these spaces look like?
Sheri: Because it's a warehouse space, it's going to be all open. We have high, overhead glass doors, which will bring in a lot of natural light. In the front portion of our building, we’ll have a gathering space with casual seating and a kitchen—I imagine we’ll meet with clients in that space, because that’s where people feel most comfortable. I also designed two free-standing walls that are the same proportion and dimensions of my old Springhouse office walls. It is nice to be able to use a design element to remember where we started. Behind those walls, you’ll see our open office plan—this will be nice to have everyone work with each other. But we’ll also have a separate media room for Zoom meetings, because of COVID and the changes that has brought about.
Dayton Business Journal: I imagine Zoom meetings will probably continue for a little while.
Sheri: I think that's the new normal. I really do. I still love sitting down across the table from somebody, but that very first meeting is all about deciding if we’re a good fit. So, instead of everyone coming together in one space for the initial meeting, maybe we meet on Zoom. People are getting more comfortable with it.
Dayton Business Journal: For many of your projects during COVID, you’ve been helping people bring the office space into the home space. Tell me more about that.
Sheri: Actually, we hae been focused on bring the home feel to the commercial office. For one of our clients in West Chester, we designed his private office like a living room—with a big seating pit, fireplace, an aquarium and some art pieces. He's the CEO of multiple companies, so he needed a place where he could feel comfortable bringing people in. We even added a full corporate conference room. But he wanted a separate space that felt a little bit different. I think now that people are getting used to being at home, a lot of those spaces are going to mesh together somehow. Over the last couple of years, even before COVID started, people were wanting something different for their office. In homes for the past 20 years, you would walk through the front door with a dining room on one side and a study on the other side. Some people still use these spaces, but a lot has changed. These days, more people are wanting one of two things. One option is a hard-working office, which means it's going to be in a different part of the house. Sometimes we put these rooms off of the master bedroom or basement, away from the family hustle and bustle. The second type of office people are asking for is more of a command center—somewhere to file their bills, keep important papers or their printer. Another place we're putting the office is in the mudroom or the laundry room. We make sure these are clean, beautiful and spacious.
Dayton Business Journal: Are you inundated with home office projects right now?
Sheri: Not really! I think a lot of people are converting their home office as a DIY project. There's so much information on the internet to organize a room that you already have—like an extra bedroom that used to be a kid's room or a guest room. They're just the right size, and they're typically the right proportion. One major change I've seen over the last five years is how house sizes are coming down. People are figuring out how to use the space they have, versus adding on. More and more people are saying they need to redesign their existing house to make it work for them. Nine times out of ten, they have plenty of space—we just need to rethink it.
Dayton Business Journal: Let’s talk about privacy in the home.
Sheri: So there are different zones in your house—there are private zones and public zones. Do you want your office to be in a public zone? Do you want all of your family to use it? Or do you work nine to five and need a private space? Can it be a nook off of the utility room, or does it need to be fully closed? Do you need a secure space away from visitors or kids? Do you need to be on Zoom meetings where you don't want people walking in or walking behind you? That's what I'm talking about with the level of privacy. Answer these questions first, then decide where the space goes.
Dayton Business Journal: What do you think has been lost or gained working from home versus going into a traditional office setting?
Sheri: Springhouse is a hybrid right now—some people are in the office, some people are out. In reality, it’s easier to work together on team projects when everyone's in the office. Since it's a hybrid environment, it’s been complex to balance between the two—but it's working for us! I’m a true believer in being comfortable where you work, so you can offer your best self, especially in a creative environment.
Dayton Business Journal: Awesome! Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?
Sheri: I started a thing called Springhouse Collaborative! Right now, it’s a free Facebook group where I come on once a week to do live videos and teach people what they need to know about designing and building a custom home. It’s not only for Springhouse clients—it's for anyone thinking about or in the middle of a custom home project. This is a community of people asking great questions like, Where do I go to find appliances? We recently had someone ask if Springhouse has ever done something super fun, like a hidden passage. They wondered if it was worth the time and the money. We do a lot of that! Anyway, it’s a great community that’s growing pretty fast.
Dayton Business Journal: That sounds awesome! I really appreciate you taking the time to talk.
Sheri: Thanks, Hannah. It was nice to catch up with you!
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