Having a small home office means that you need to make better design options, buy more
efficient products, and think ahead. It also means that you still can create a great, comfortable,
work-friendly space – even if it’s not as large as you would like. Sometimes you just don’t have
an option when it comes to choosing how big the office is, so you just have to make do with
what you have. If you need some tips or ideas on design ideas for a small home office, continue
reading below.
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Use A Nook or Under a Staircase
If you have a small home office you have to use the space you have. If you have a space that
you’ve made into a home office and you have a nook, recessed wall or room under a stairwell,
these are all ideal places to place a small filing cabinet, a desk, and a few personal items.
Invest In Bookshelves and Shelves
Bookshelves are a great place for books, of course, shelves, in general, take up the wall space
and not the floor space. Building up rather than out is always a good idea when you have a
smaller space available. Make sure that when you use your shelves and cabinets you aren’t just
throwing stuff in there either. Organize it properly using filing systems, boxes or magazine
holders.
Convert An Empty Closet Or Wall Cupboard
If you already have a small space or you can’t even find a space for your home office, why not
consider looking for spaces you don’t use. For example, closets and wall cupboards like this one:
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Are a great way to utilize space you didn’t think you had. All you would really need to do is add
a few more shelves like with the picture above, and a desk top – which is the lowest “shelf” on
the bottom. Look you even have room for a printer and a trash can!
Paint Your Walls a Lighter Color
Light colors can make a room seem bigger than it really is. Don’t use white, though. Regular old
stark white can make the room seem boring. Instead, use another neutral but pretty color like
gray which is really popular right now, beige, tan and cream. Also, if you really want to trick
your eyes, don’t paint the ceiling. If you don’t paint the ceiling it will make the ceiling look
higher and in turn, will make the room look bigger. Of course, this isn’t going to help you fit
more stuff in the room, but it will help you from feeling claustrophobic and closed in.
L-Shaped Or Regular Shaped Built-In Desks
Chances are if you don’t have enough room as is, you don’t want a desk sitting out in the middle
of the floor. So in the same way you want to use wall space to add on to, you also want to use
those walls to maximize floor space. First off, don’t get a bigger desk than you need. Unless you
are some high paid corporate guy, CEO or a lawyer, you don’t need a large $5000 desk at home.
Second off, a built in (or even pushed up against the wall) desk is going to save space. L shaped
desks give you some depth and style in the room, but you might not always have the space for it.
Have Only What You Need
If you had a nice expansive office with lots of room, by all means, get the mini fridge, get the
relaxing couch to take breaks on in between work, get the floor lamps and whatever else. But, if
you have a smaller room, you can’t be having all these extra items. Instead, you will mainly need
a desk, a chair, one filing cabinet on the floor (or more if you anchor them to the walls) and a
garbage can. If you really want a place to put your beverages, use the kitchen or get a mini
desktop beverage holder or beverage dispenser. Other than that, you really need to minimalize on
the items you place in the space. Even lights, you can either install some ceiling lights that won't
take up floor space and instead of using floor lamps, use sconces on the walls or a desk lamp.
Stay Clutter Free
If you have a small space, you absolutely need to make a push to stay clutter free and organized
through the day. You definitely don’t want to be leaving things on the floor, having your desk
cluttered or having the waste bin overflowing. Make sure that every day before you leave that
room that you clean it up! Also, shut the door behind you. That way you won't be thinking about
work stuff when you should be thinking about family stuff.
