HGTV's Hilary Farr Proves How These Two Spaces Don't Belong Together In Your Home

The square footage of your home often dictates how you can use each space. Sometimes, because of that space, rooms have to play double duty to meet your living needs. But there are two spaces that HGTV star Hilary Farr believes should never be combined: A home office and a bedroom. In Episode 10 of Season 18 of HGTV's "Love It or List It," Farr tackles a home where the homeowners placed a large desk right at the entrance of the palatial primary bedroom. The bedroom was large, so it makes sense why the homeowners wanted to utilize the entire space and combine multiple areas in one room.

However, combining a home office with a bedroom should be avoided when possible. That's because the purposes of these rooms aren't compatible. Home offices should designed to make you the most productive, while bedrooms are meant to relax you. These incompatible vibes can make it difficult for both spaces to function as they should. Including a workspace in your bedroom makes the line between work and rest blurry and can reduce work-life balance. Working in your bedroom can associate the space with the stress of work, which can make it difficult to relax and sleep when bedtime comes around. Conversely, working in a bedroom can also lead to poor productivity and lack of concentration since you're surrounded by comfort in an environment meant for leisure.

The focus of a bedroom should be on rest and relaxation, creating a space that's meant to help you wind down from the day and get good sleep at night. That's exactly why Hilary Farr removed the home office from her client's bedroom in the episode of "Love It or List It." Because the space was so large, however, Farr utilized the space that was the home office as a sitting area. Adding a bit of seating to the room not only fills up a large space but also creates another area for relaxing. The lounge area can be a private and intimate space for the room's occupants. It can be used as a space to curl up and read or sit and have a conversation at the end of the night.

If you have the space, dedicate a spare room as a home office. This will allow you to have the mindset of productivity as soon as you enter to do work. And you'll be less likely to get distracted when you create a space meant to get things done. However, not every home has the excess square footage to dedicate an entire room to being a home office. If this is the case, you can combine a home office with a guest room, section off a part of the living room, or turn another unused space — like a formal dining room, closet, or nook — into the office space.