“I’ve heard of people having a 9 to 5 job, but I have to say I’ve never actually met one of those people,” Tanya laughed. “Like everyone I know, I bring a lot of work home from the office with me. There’s just too much stuff to get done during the average day, and it can’t wait.” Tanya was using the kitchen table as her make-do desk, but this wasn’t a very successful option for her. “I have three kids. You can imagine how well this worked. Chocolate milk getting spilled all over my quarterly reports was the last straw!”

Tanya knew she needed a place in her Boston home that she could designate as a home office. “That’s where the work would get done and the kids would stay out,” she said. “But there was literally nowhere where this could happen. We had no space. I talked to a contractor, and he was all about putting up an addition. Hello – do I look like I’m made out of money?”

A cost-effective alternative to adding rooms to your home is having your basement finished in Boston. “When I talked to the basement finishing contractors, I was very up front. I said, this is my budget, this is what I need to have done, can you make it happen?” Tanya explained. “It turns out they exceeded my expectations in every way.” Once the walls were finished, and flooring and lighting were installed, Tanya had space for her home office. “I kept the furniture very simple,” she said. “Just a desk, chair, and filing cabinet.” She sighed a happy sigh. “While the kids are doing their thing, I can come down here and concentrate. I don’t have to worry about any papers getting lost or having half a day’s work spoiled by a “Oops Mom!”