How to Create a Home Office if You Don’t Have Room for One
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If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then the office is definitely its brain. This is the spot where bills get paid, crafts get crafted, and to-dos get done. But not everyone has a room in their home to dedicate to a home office. Here, we’ve gathered design tips, expert tricks, and affordable, stylish products to create the home office of your dreams, all within the confines a typical closet (yes, you read that right!), corner, or tucked away nook.
Because the office is typically one of the smallest spaces in your home, it needs to work a little harder, taking advantage of every horizontal and vertical inch. The ideas you’ll see here also work for any corner or overlooked area in a room. Got a kitchen breakfast nook that’s just not working hard enough? Or a guest bedroom that doesn’t host many guests? Employ these ideas for creating a small home office to get organized once and for all this year.
Read on for clever and charming ways to get organized and corral your supplies, and more!
Five Steps to Turn a Closet Into a Home Office You’ll Love:
1. Start with a blank slate.
Remove all items, racks, and rods from your closet.
Cover the back with cork for pinning up paint swatches, invitations, photos, artwork, and such.
Install a floating desktop from end to end using brackets and sturdy boards. The standard height is between 28 and 30 inches from the floor. As an alternative to a built-in desk top, consider a freestanding piece of furniture with the just-right dimensions.
Hang shelving above. Make sure to leave enough vertical space for your storage and decorative items to stack/fit.
2. Make closet doors work harder.
Paint the closet doors a color that goes well with the overall office design. For a similar look to our design, try Minor Blue by Sherwin-Williams. Or, check out our list of the 100 most popular paint colors.
Turn the inside of closet doors into a makeshift craft room by covering them with pegboard. Hang varying sizes of wire baskets to corral crafting supplies and hooks to keep items like scissors and measuring sticks at the ready.
Wooden dowels suspended from brackets also help organize rolls of tape and ribbon. For an alternative to a typical memo board, also hang a roll of kraft paper to jot down to-dos.
3. Pick desk supplies with character.
Not-so-stuffy desk supplies, like an animal-shaped tape dispenser and colorful storage containers, bring a smile to mundane tasks.
Store magazines and catalogs neatly in color coordinated files.
Stack storage boxes and bins on upper shelves to hide unsightly supplies, photos, receipts, and more.
Pretty patterned notebooks also make everyday tasks feel more special.
Kitty Cat Tape Dispenser
Wireless Typewriter Keyboard
Decorative Cork Board
24-Inch-Wide Brown Kraft Paper Roll
Lined Spiral Notebook
Set of 6 Magazine Holders
4. Go for furniture with style.
Office chairs have come a long way! Opt for seating that is functional, comfortable, and stylish, too.
A short two-drawer filing cabinet (or repurposed nightstand) tucks under the desktop perfectly.
For lighting, forgo standard office task lighting for a pretty glass lamp that shines a light on work and crafts alike. We also love cordless tiny lamps for easy task lighting in those places where cords won’t reach!
2-Drawer File Cabinet
Glass Table Lamps
White and Gold Leather Desk Chair
5. Reuse what you have.
Get creative! Gather materials and items from other rooms in your house to get your workspace into shipshape. For corraling pencils and pens and other supplies, we love Mason jars, julep cups, and vintage trophies. And, you can never have too many baskets to hold larger supplies, papers, and more.
Use a paper towel holder as a ribbon dispenser.
Use a paint can as a mail holder.
Use a magazine holder as a fabric scrap sorter.
Use an egg crate as a desk organizer.
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