If you are one of the growing number of people who work from home, or if you would just like an office to handle household accounts and work on your computer, you may want to include a home office in your new home.

The challenge is to keep the room functional while still fitting with your home rather than looking like a commercial space. This room, from Fulton Home’s Malibu model in the Shoreline community, does a good job of managing both.

The desk provides plenty of work space, even with the laptop sitting on it. A few drawers facing the chair will hold current papers and office supplies without creating the office-feel produced by file cabinets.

There is plenty of light in the room. The ceiling fan provides ambient light and a bit of breeze to chase the mental cobwebs away when you’re thinking too hard. The nice large window gives plenty of natural light during the day and the floor lamp serves for task lighting at night.

The desk chair is not a traditional office choice, but it provides a home touch that benefits the room. The informal wing chair to the side makes a useful companion chair – moving across the desk or behind it for the convenience of a visitor.

The nicest feature from a home office standpoint is the bookshelf/china closet to the right. With its glass cabinet doors books become decorative as well as functional. The three drawers at the bottom provide space for more office supplies or papers.

Only a few years ago, the look of this room would have been hurt by scads of wires and cables. Now, thanks to Wifi capabilities, the most you may need is a cord to the nearest electrical outlet for the laptop if you want to conserve its battery.

To keep your home office as inviting as this one, look for furniture you can repurpose the way they did in this room. With some art and window coverings this room is inviting as well as useful.