A balance must be struck between the two uses of the apartment. There is no need to try to completely hide one function or the other. A home should not be made to look like a corporate office and the office need not be made to look like a glossy magazine's idealized home. However, as this is an existing home design to be adapted for an office, the aesthetic of the apartment will predominate. Materials and finishes should blend with those already selected for the apartment.
Furniture can be dual use, with comfortable but durable finishes suitable for office use.
There are a range of pre-built and modular home office furniture items available. The units are designed with special fitting for a slide out keyboard, computer monitor hight adjustment, printer paper feed and CPU box. As well as adding to the cost and providing more parts to break, this reduces the flexibility of the design when technology changes. As an example these units do not accommodate new flat screen, lap-top and laser printer equipment. The bulk of the unit tends to dominate a small room.