You don’t need to have a spare room or a huge master bedroom to set up a home office. Ample workspace can emerge from a few inches of a wall, a spare corner, or other areas you’ve probably never thought of exploring.
All you need is a bit of creativity and perhaps a little elbow grease to carve out room for a small office. Whether you want to squeeze in a fully loaded workspace or just a small desk, we’ll share a few ideas below to help you carve out a stylish, small home office.
Change the Room Layout of your Living Room
Switching up the furniture arrangement of your living room can create the space needed for a small home office. A bare wall can be a really valuable asset, especially if you’re short on space. Consider building up instead of extending wide. In such a setup, simple floating shelves can serve as a practical way of breaking up the wall.
Alternatively, you can move your sofa to the center of your living room and use the space behind it for the office. If your TV set is centered in front of the sofa, your desk will be too, which should provide you with entertainment while you work.
Think Multi-Purpose
A great place to start is the guest bedroom since they are frequented less often. For example, you can add a small desk and a sleek chair so as not to be obtrusive when you have guests over. Be sure to keep the sleeping area well-defined and have a desk that also suits a bedroom set.
Add some shelves above the desk area and invest in matching storage files to keep your materials organized to avoid embarrassment if you have a surprise visitor.
The desk could also double as a dressing table quite easily; you only need to add a freestanding mirror. It can also be cleared to serve as a bedside table when you have guests and be your personal HQ the rest of the time.
You can also use open and comfortable spaces like your living room to get things done. However, you need to be extra careful about your work boundaries because you’ll often not be leaving the office.
Make Nooks Work for You
It makes no sense to overlook any available space in your home, and this includes a hallway. So, if you have an area that’s long and not-so-narrow, you can capitalize on it by propping up a slim desk and a small seat or a stool against a wall.
Slims desks, foldaway seating, and neat shelving can also be used to turn the space under the stairs can also be turned into a compact home office.
If the architecture of your home has any form of a “what’s that for” little nook, you can take advantage of it and create a small space for your office. A tall secretary desk setup can effectively fill up the vertical space and comes with the added benefit of closing to conceal any clutter. This is a huge plus if the nook is located in a high-traffic area of your home.
Make Use of Underused Spaces
Home offices don’t necessarily have to be self-contained spaces. If you have any wasted space, such as in large landings or dining rooms, you could use the space for your home office. Consider using paint, rugs, or flooring to zone out the different elements of the space to make it feel more intentional than just a makeshift.
If you don’t find yourself eating most of your meals in your dining room, or you don’t really use the dining room table that much, you might want to consider turning it into a small office space. When you host those fabulous dinner parties, you can always tuck everything away into the nearby bookshelf or cupboard.
If you are blessed with an attic, don’t dismiss it as a storage space. You can instead take advantage of the area where the roof peaks by fitting a desk where there is ample space for your head while standing up, Desk View – Shop Now If the attic feels a little dingy, give it a fresh coat of paint and make use of any natural light available when setting up your office.
Take the Slim Approach
Your personal workspace doesn’t need to take that much room, opt for a slim, console table instead of the conventional desks. Consoles are generally available in slender depths, which will ensure that your mini office doesn’t encroach on valuable space. Look for styles that are open at the bottom to accommodate a chair that’s deep enough for your preferences.
The Closet or Bookcase
For most people, it’s difficult to give up a closet, especially if it’s quite small. However, if you work from home and are desperate to find ample office space, then the closet is a great idea. It’s ideally a no-construction dream, and you can always use the space above the desk as extra storage for your closet.
If you have some built-ins, you can take advantage of their incredible potential by putting up a foldaway or a slide-out table or desktop that retracts when it’s no longer in use. For those who don’t want to deal with the construction, a floating or fold-down shelf has the same concept.
Create a Bedside Office Space
Putting your office space in your bedroom takes dozing off at your desk to a completely new meaning. Although most people would advise keeping your work outside the bedroom, you can still make your nightstand or table serve double duty as your office desk if you’re very tight on space.