Jesse and Shanni Burke were working on their laptops a few feet apart in their cramped Silicon Valley apartment this spring, sweltering without air conditioning, when it dawned on them. The coronavirus pandemic that was virtually imprisoning them in their tiny downtown San Jose walk-up also offered an unexpected escape option. No longer tethered to the office, they could live almost anywhere outside the pricey Bay Area and keep their jobs. Last week, the couple moved into a 2,700-square-foot home on a leafy street in the suburban Sacramento community of Fair Oaks. It’s their first home purchase. They’ll turn two of the four bedrooms into his and hers offices. And they plan to add a gym and a backyard pool. … Aren Bazzocco, local president for the Taylor Morrison home building company, said builders already are “pivoting on home design.” That includes little things like home offices that have sound proofing or noise-canceling machines. “There’s nothing worse than the yard guy coming by (with noisy leaf blowers and lawn mowers) when you are on a conference call,” Bazzocco said. Michael Strech, head of the Northern California Building Industry Association, said builders are dedicating secure drop-off space for Amazon packages. But they are leery about adding too much square footage. “You have to make it pencil,” Strech said. Full Sacramento Bee Article HERE.