Bespoke camper van office, private booth or luxury work from home shed?

Achieving the perfect work/life balance is easier than ever before, thanks to the increased focus on working from home over the past 18 months. The UK’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout has been overwhelmingly hailed as a success yet despite this, not everyone wants to return to the office and pick up where they left off. A taste of a better balance between the office and working at home has inspired many workers to opt for hybrid or fully home-based arrangements out of choice, rather than necessity.

“The lines between living and working from home have become inextricably interwoven for many since the first lockdown began. It’s raised questions about the continuing relevance of commuting to the office every day; for many, spending a few days a week working from home is here to stay. Thankfully, we delight in delivering spaces that will surprise and excite our residents so we’ve had great fun designing a range of new work from home amenities.”

Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living
At Quintain Living – the award-winning management company overseeing the rental of more than 2,500 apartments in Wembley Park – the team has focused on providing a variety of innovative work from home solutions, to meet the differing needs of its residents.

Canada Gardens, for example, has heated designer work from home sheds that residents can hire, surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens. Many residents also like to pop into the clubhouse to enjoy a coffee and a bit of company while they work. There’s WiFi across the whole Wembley Park estate, as there is for all of Quintain Living’s Wembley Park buildings.

At The Robinson, Quintain has built private office space and work/phone booths into the residents’ lounge. The versatile space can be used for both working and socialising, in recognition of the blurring of the lines between the two. And for those who want a really inspiring work from home space, Quintain Living has provided a dedicated rooftop that’s home to three bespoke, custom-built work from home camper vans. Complete with power, heating and lighting (and WiFi, naturally), they sit on their own rooftop area with the sky wide-open above and stunning views of London. Quintain Living has added picnic tables and deckchairs too, to give the space a real community vibe.

“Working from home shouldn’t mean you have to feel lonely. We’re looking at this as a long-term occurrence now, incorporating more quirky work from home spaces in our future buildings, as well as thinking through how individual apartments can be designed to suit increased home working. That means including more space for desks, providing furniture that’s designed to be comfortable when used for longer periods at a time, that kind of thing. We’re also exploring ways that we can support residents to tailor their apartments to suit their individual working requirements; not every home worker needs an identikit desk/office chair setup.”

Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living
Quintain Living is also reassessing its current residents’ lounges to see how it can reshape them to suit increased home working without compromising their use for social gathering. This company is looking at both rentable workspaces and coworking-influenced environments for flexible use as part of this. The plans have at their core an understanding that working from home takes many different forms.