Tips for Creating a Home Office Without a Separate Space

Hello World!  Welcome Friends!  Not everyone who needs or wants a home office has the luxury of having a separate room to accommodate it. There are plenty of freelancers, entrepreneurs, and students who could benefit from having a dedicated space, but don’t know where to begin without a closed-off area.

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Even if you don’t work from home, chances are you often find yourself sitting at the dining room table sorting through a pile of bills or paperwork. A home office can provide a comfortable, organized place for you to both manage your remote work and handle your household affairs. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can handle the situation if you don’t have a room to spare. Here are five tips for creating a home office without a separate space:

Find Your Workspace

You might not have a dedicated home office, but you can certainly have a dedicated work space. Walk through your house or apartment and look for wall space that’s sufficient enough to fit a desk and file cabinet (if needed). This could be a corner of the living room or a section of wall in your bedroom.

You may find that you’ll have to move furniture around to make make it easier to fit. If you’re crunched for space, use this as an opportunity to implement storage saving solutions and start putting items away. Before you purchase furniture, be sure to take measurements of your wall and mark down how certain pieces will fit. There are many interior decorating apps that allow you to see what your space would look like with different types of furniture in the room.

Invest in Comfortable Furniture

With a small workspace, your furniture should be as comfortable as possible. Ideally, you’ll want to pay attention to ergonomics. Balancing comfort, function, and design may be difficult, but it’s not impossible. If you plan to spend a lot of time at your workspace, the last thing you want is to feel pain in your body from sitting too long. Adjustable chairs with lumbar support are a great option, and standing desks are popular in many offices today, too.

Pay Attention to Lighting

It’s not uncommon for people creating an office for the first time to simply throw a desk in the darkest corner of a room. Instead, think strategically about your desk position. Natural light helps eliminate the “corporate cubicle” feeling that’s associated with standard offices. If you move closer to the windows, you can take advantage of the natural light that comes in. You also have to pay attention the light you use at your workstation. The overhead lighting in your house is most likely inadequate for a workspace, so you’ll need a proper desk lamp to illuminate your laptop and paperwork.

Look for Inspiration

“The planning phase is a crucial aspect of interior decorating,” says Peter Goldberg, CEO of Canadian home retailer Bouclair. “Before you start making purchases, put together a color palette and theme to help streamline your purchases and ensure all your design efforts are cohesive.”

Pinterest is a great place to start when it comes to looking for and curating inspiration. If you don’t have any idea of how you want to decorate your office, start with a broad search, then narrow it down. As you’re searching, you’ll notice colors and furniture types that are most appealing to you. It’s also important to keep in mind that just because you don’t have a dedicated office doesn’t mean you can’t look at proper home offices—you can always take a theme and scale it down.

You’ll also want to stay cohesive with your current home design. If your office workspace is in your living room, for example, you should try and stay in line with the same color palette or style.

Incorporate Storage

With limited space, you’ll have to be creative when it comes to storage. Filing cabinets aren’t very attractive if you’re trying to marry function with style, but there are plenty of alternative solutions. Take advantage of a wall shelving system, bins, bookcases, paper trays, and rolling drawers. Additionally, take a look at how other people are using their storage in their offices to give you additional inspiration on various ways you can stay organized.

Click the links below for any posts you may have missed!

Make it Pretty Monday

Redecorate your Home on a Budget

What to Consider when it Comes to Drawer Boxes

Things to Expect from a Lawn Care Service

Simple Interior Details for your Bedroom

Wallpaper & Sideboard Reveal

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