You don’t need to have all the space in the world to create a productive and fully functioning home office. With just a little bit of forward planning and some smart small home office ideas, you can make use of every inch of your home.
Perhaps you’re working with limited space for your desk and executive office chair, or maybe you are considering installing a home office in an open-plan area. Whatever your predicament, these nine small home office design ideas can serve as inspiration for a pocket-sized home office - with gigantic productivity results.
Dive Into Small Home Office Ideas to Maximise Your Space
Essential Furniture Only
When space is at a premium, choosing only the most essential furniture for your home office is crucial. While every profession will undoubtedly require something different, some non-negotiable essentials include a high-quality desk unit, an executive office chair and smart storage solutions. Investing in suitable lighting will also help transform any home area into a comfortable and productive workspace.
Utilise Vertical Storage
One of the most popular small home office ideas is to switch on-the-ground cupboard storage for vertical storage up high. The spot just below the ceiling above your desk is often overlooked. Vertical storage is best for items that you don’t need day-to-day, but can still be accessed easily when you need. Remember, to ensure your vertical storage is secure, check your shelves or organisers are properly anchored to sturdy supports.
Define Working Zones
If you’re incorporating your home office into an open-plan room, consider using wallpaper, panelling or paint to demarcate your working zone. We recommend revamping a section of the wall that’s roughly the width of your office desk and just below ceiling height. This will create a chic framed backdrop for your desk furniture; executive office desks, in particular, will either blend well with any colour backdrop or make a big contrasting design statement.
Introduce Standing Desks
Switching your traditional office desk for a standing workstation is another great space-saving trick. Because standing or electric desks are height adjustable, they can neatly fit into smaller home offices. Not to mention these desks are extremely beneficial for minimising back pain by helping home workers to avoid remaining sedentary. You can read about the perfect height for your office desk here.
Adapt Your Alcoves
Alcoves are some of the most underutilised spots in the home. Better still, converting an alcove into a home office allows you to work with your available space, and not against it. If you don’t quite have the space to dedicate a whole room to an office, but want a bit more separation than an open-plan design can offer, why not adapt your home’s nooks and crannies into a functional environment for home working?
Turn Shelving into Desk Space
If even the smallest affordable office desk doesn’t fit in your home working space, why not use a floating shelf as your desk surface instead? This is perhaps one of the smartest ways to transform a small area into a functional home office and will work in the vast majority of interiors. With no desk legs to consider, this small home office idea also allows you to choose from a wider variety of budget office chairs to complete your fit.
Take Advantage of Attic Eaves
Another underused area of the home that can be turned into a functional home office is the attic. This works best for loft spaces that are already boarded out. While an attic’s sloping roofs might seem redundant for any other space, the right-sized home office desk should happily slot in. Remember to place your desk near a window to get as much natural light as you can.
Light and Bright
Colour plays a large part in making a space seem bigger than it is. For the ultimate optical illusion, stick to light and bright shades and materials. You could introduce crisp whites with a white office desk or stick to pale wood materials with wooden office chairs. Investing in tall lighting for your home working space also allows you to continue reaping the benefits of working in a well-lit space, even in the darker winter months when daylight is limited.
Flexible Workstations
For the smallest of home office spaces, consider a workstation that can be packed away at the end of the workday. Adaptable furniture plays a staple part in a flexible workstation. For example, an extendable desk with a built-in computer table, or an office bookcase that includes space for an office chair to slide under when needed. As working from home has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years, so has the search for office furniture that has more than one function.
Go Big with Order Office Furniture: Visit Us or Order Online
With over 30 years in the industry, we know that home offices come in all shapes and sizes. That's why our collection of high-quality office furniture is suitable for every work-from-home set-up. No matter how small your space, go big with Order Office Furniture and create a home working environment that’s productive, multipurpose - and totally unique to you.
To find out more about our range of office furniture or to enquire about a piece in particular, feel free to get in touch. Our expert team can help you design the perfect home office using every inch of available space in your home. You can also see our full range of home office furniture in person by making an appointment at our showroom in Huddersfield.
