Home offices give way to hobby rooms as return

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the most in-demand amenity was a stylish home office. Headlines proclaimed that commuting was a thing of the past and working from home was the future, while homeowners were building sheds in their yards as makeshift office spaces.

That future proved to be temporary. Five years later, major employers from the U.S. government to Wall Street banks have required their staff back at their desks, with some companies such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. even requiring employees to return to the office five days a week.

In the wake of these return-to-office mandates, homeowners are now finding new uses for their offices, converting spare rooms and outdoor additions into Pilates studios, golf simulator rooms, cigar lounges and even hangout spaces for their chi