3 Strategies to Maximize Your Office Space
I’ve been checking in weekly on how everyone’s doing in our sustained state of work from home. Based on an Instagram poll I posted two weeks ago, the majority of you who responded (85%) said yes.
Based on our discussions, we’re all still struggling to find equilibrium working from home. One of the biggest challenges y’all are facing is space.
Before I was @mid_centurymillennial, I was @tiny_housekeeping.
I am no stranger to space issues, in my early twenties my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I lived in a sub 200 square foot cabin from the early 1900’s in Kenmore, Washington. He was a night baker and trying to manage a food prep business on the side, I was working full-time at an engineering firm and grading hundreds of junior high English essays for extra scratch on the weekends.
My mantra for this whole home design thing is just make a space you love, and I truly loved that little space. We didn’t last too long in that cabin, it was damp, shared with squirrels and lacked laundry facilities - a deal breaker by the time I hit by my mid-twenties. But one thing that did make the space work was that even in a tiny house, the use if distinct “zones” helped me feel like I could shift in and out of different gears.
With the more permanent fixture of work from home, we can follow the same logic. If you haven’t carved out your home office space yet because you literally don’t know where to start - let’s talk.
Now that I have enough space for a full office with a singular work-filled purpose, I realize there’s beauty in the nooks and crannies we create for ourselves without this luxury, so this week’s #wfhwednesday is dedicated to finding unique ways to arrange a space when you don’t have a lot of space to work with.
My guidance for building a productive work space can be boiled down to a few guiding principles:
Find your space: dedicate a space for work, no matter how small.
Individualize and integrate: make that space feel distinct and inspiring, even if it has a hybrid purpose or is in a shared space.
Purchase with purpose: edit your office intentionally and purchase with purpose.
Let’s get into some inspiration based on these principles.
Make Space where you can
Let’s look at a few options for where to find some space for when you have to look harder than a room labeled “office.”
Cloffice
My favorite office solution because we all abuse our closet space anyway.
Pati Robins via Instagram
Bedroom
Absolutely can’t get enough acrylic, loving this bedside desk.
ezzwilson via Instagram
LIVING ROOM
I’m a big fan of leveraging the sofa table which usually has a very vague purpose in my opinion.
Literally, any vacant wall space.
2. Individualize and Integrate your space
If your office is taking up a hybrid space, use a few of these strategies to help define your office, while still making it feel like a cohesive design.
Use your walls
My current obsession is removable wall decals from Samantha Santana.
If you are feeling bolder and can deal with the permanence, paint a bold accent or use wallpaper for punch that usually only requires a roll.
Layer a Statement mirror or art
Define the space with swag lamps
Vintage, Target, Ikea - find your vibe and mark your space to not only provide light but add structure to your defined space that still feels integrated into a larger room.
3. Purchase with Purpose
Here are a few recommendations to support your dedicated office space. NOTE: I always try to save money and reduce waste by searching Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and more recently Buy Nothing. Responsibly produced home goods is an area I am researching and honestly coming up shorter than expected, so stay tuned for more resources on that.
Recommended Products for ORGANIZATION
Note: I only post affiliate links if I truly love the item and have it myself, my goal is to move away from Amazon and find more sustainably sourced items but I do want to say that in the middle of a pandemic some folks aren’t able to leave their house and sometimes you really do need a thing. I do advocate looking into alternatives when possible and am working towards a full resource on this.
My favorite cable concealer pack from Amazon.
Acrylic monitor/laptop stand for better ergonomic height
Affordable home office Desk options
If you want drawers for storage, my current favorite is this Ikea Alex upcycle by grillo designs.
If you have more of a vintage vibe, I am also a huge fan of using a secretary desk that already have great storage built-in.
For a small space where you want your desk to become invisible when not in use, I love this CB2 console table (not sponsored, and not the first or last time I will talk about acrylic tables):
My minimalist Ikea Lisabo desk that looks more expensive than it is.
DIY shelf-desk, which can be made to fit any space and customized to your standing or seated height.
Even the smallest spaces can provide big inspiration. The average 9-5er spends 2000+ hours at their desk and if you’re anything like me you are moonlighting that space for other industrious purposes. Stay tuned for future Work From Home Wednesday features where we’ll keep diving into the intricacies of getting this space right.
If you haven’t already, get caught up on what I’ve already covered:
