Home Office

A NEW, national consumer study has a strong message about technology for America's homebuilders: Don't overload us with high-tech electronic gadgets that are bound to confuse us and probably will break. We want our homes wired for practical and fun stuff - entertainment systems, high-speed Internet connections, lots of power outlets for computers, and built-in wiring that allows us to have speakers for our favorite music in multiple rooms around the house. We're intrigued by the potentials of built-in intranet systems that allow neighborhoods, subdivisions and new communities to post notices of events and local news on dedicated, private sites.

County residents voiced their support yesterday for a proposal that would give homeowners with professional offices - such as real estate, dental and chiropractic services - the right to rent out the dwelling while keeping their offices there. Under current zoning laws, the homeowner must live in the dwelling to maintain a home office on the property. "The residency requirement serves no purpose," said Rudy Klima, a Hampstead dentist who proposed the zoning amendment. "It does not guarantee a nice-looking home.

One hundred twenty-five years ago this month, Alexander Graham Bell made the world's first telephone call, summoning his assistant with the famous line: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you!" History doesn't record a response, but if Gordon Matthews had been around, the great inventor might have gotten this: "Hi, this is Tom Watson, Mr. Bell's executive assistant. I've stepped away from my desk. Press 1 to leave a message, 2 to reach an attendant." Matthews' name may not be familiar, but his most inspired invention is known to almost everyone: voice mail.

So, you've got a home office complete with your very own swivel chair, file cabinets that you don't have to share and no one to complain if you hang up a "World's Cutest Dairy Farmers" calendar. But how ergonomically correct is your personal office space? Are you wreaking havoc on your lower back, wrists or eyesight by the way you sit at your desk, manipulate your mouse or gaze at your monitor? When you work for a big, responsible company, most of the important stuff is taken care of. You might have a glare screen for your computer, a wrist rest for your keyboard and an adjustable chair with more settings than a formal dinner at the White House.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - When he wants to get some work done before the phones start ringing, Mark Sova leaves his home at 5 a.m. to head for the office. He doesn't have to travel far. Sova walks behind his garage, up some steps and into his large home office, above the garage. Sova has created his dream office: It includes skylights, French doors, wide-planked hickory hardwood floors, lots of windows, plentiful desk space, custom-made shelves to fit his blueprints, an intercom system to the house and a spot just waiting for a wood stove.

Ever since an unknown thief ran up thousands of dollars in charges on her family's credit card, Cathy Chung has worried about snoops and criminals who snatch private information from the unsuspecting. "You have people going through trash cans. Nothing is safe any more," said Chung, a stay-at-home mother of three. That explains one of her first purchases for the study of her new Los Angeles home: a $35 paper shredder. The personal shredder has emerged as a common business tool and home appliance -- you have your toaster, your power drill, your shredder -- and that says plenty about the world we live in. For its growing ranks of enthusiasts, the shredder has become a cheap and satisfying way to register a protest against a society that is strangling them in paperwork, invading their privacy and making their lives more complicated.

As Greenspring Quarry near Pikesville winds down operations, a compromise on how many homes can be built around the abandoned rock pit remains elusive.Developer Steven S. Koren, representing landowner Florida Rock Industries of Jacksonville, Fla., says his company has sacrificed greatly by reducing the number of homes planned to nearly a fifth below what is allowed under a 1984 agreement with community groups."We cannot give any more," Koren said.The 624 homes and condominiums he wants to build -- with a hotel and office space -- "is a high-quality residential and commercial development," he said.

The fierce opposition to Stewart J. Greenebaum's plan to convert a turkey farm in Fulton into a community of homes and businesses appears to be dwindling, with only a dozen Fulton residents attending a special hearing yesterday before the Howard County Zoning Board.In previous hearings -- all of which have been held on weekday evenings -- a solid showing of residents, many of them members of the Greater Beaufort Citizens Association, showed up to protest Greenebaum's plan to build the proposed development of 1,198 residential units and office buildings on the 507-acre Iager farm just west of U.S. 29, bounded by Route 216 and Johns Hopkins Road.

Responding to a controversy in West Towson, a Baltimore County councilman plans to tighten requirements for setting up offices in homes, resurrecting an issue that has gone before the council in years past.Councilman Wayne M. Skinner introduced legislation last week that would require applicants for a home office special exception -- required when an outside employee works in the home -- to live in the home when they apply.Skinner introduced the legislation because of a dispute that began last fall when an Owings Mills lawyer won permission to add a law office to his vacant house in West Towson.

When Marcy Loane, sales and marketing coordinator for Bob Ward Homes in Harford County, made a simple but creative floor plan change in the house she bought from her employer, she never expected to start a trend.But the 7-by-14-foot walk-in closet that extends from her master bedroom into space over the garage caught the eye of other homebuyers. Now, customers are asking for the extra storage space in their own homes and the "Marcy" closet has become a popular Bob Ward Homes option."We love our closet," Loane said.