Black & Decker The Hardworking Home: A DIY Guide to Working, Learning, and Living at Home

The Hardworking Home presents a wide range of achievable home improvements that will help you upgrade your home to better meet your needs in this shifting world. From home office to home school to home entertaining, today's households have necessarily become functional microcosms of society.

Before the pandemic, less than five percent of full-time employees worked remotely from home.

At the height of the outbreak, more than half did. And even when the dust has settled, it is estimated that at least a quarter of us will be performing our jobs from offices in our homes.

Distance learning also will endure as an important educational tool. And while we back into less restrictive social distancing guidelines, it nevertheless makes sense to create a fun, vibrant atmosphere for entertaining ourselves and our guests within the safe confines of our homes.

Some of the projects in The Hardworking Home are quite simple and others require a little more DIY experience.

But the overriding commonality is that they have been curated with the forward-looking filter of making our lives better, more efficient, and more satisfying in a changing world landscape.

Content includes:IntroductionHow we got hereGoals and considerationsWhere to work?Distance learningMultipurpose spacesRepurposing what you already haveAdapting SpaceLamps and lighting choicesWall color and paintingPractical home decorNoise reductionAir quality and whole-house ventilationFurnishingsSeparation tips for open spacesMaking room for recess and relaxationPrivate spaces for external communicationWork-related meeting areasTechnology issues (Wi-Fi and beyond)Ergonomic solutions for working at the dining tableProtecting furnishings and surfacesEfficient ways to stash your stuffWorking togetherConvertible work spaces and desktopsPartition wallModifying countertops and cabinetsTambour hideaway (protecting electronics and equipment)Pantry conversionIsland bumpoutSlide-out work surfaces (and keyboard trays, printer bays, etc.)Under-cabinet lightingUnder-cabinet storageCord managementAdapting dining roomsAdapting kitchensAdapting family roomsCreating activity/recess areasMovable work centersDividing spaceWorkspace under loft bedCorner workspaceCreating living/working space separationAdapting bedroomsRenovating a spare roomCreating SpaceRenovating a spare room (Features: ways to improve lighting)Creating an office in an unfinished basement (Features: furring walls, suspended ceiling, raised subfloor panels)Closet office conversionRenovating a garage (Features: garage floor refinish, new garage window, garage skylight, storage projects)Making an outbuilding habitable (Features: making a shed livable)Feature project: closet officeEasy DIY ProjectsRollingModularDrop-downKidsSpace-savingRollingHiddenFile-friendlyRoom dividersPlexiglass protectorsCarrel curtainsDesksStoragePrivacy barriers