One of the most essential spaces in a home is a designated office/ study space. Every home needs a place for work (especially as many of us are still working from home), email, bills and filing, studying, and schoolwork. The problem is that for many homes, an entire room dedicated as a working office-style space just isn’t possible. Even if there are not a sufficient number of rooms available for a home office, there are many creative ways to achieve a functional office space in other areas of the home.
The first idea to consider is converting closet space into an office nook. If there is a large closet that isn’t being used to its full potential, re-fitting the space into an office/study area can be accomplished by either simply repurposing the space or with a small renovation project. Closets make for clever rooms to convert into a home office because they are often out of the fray of the rest of the home, offering the peace and quiet that many require in order to work and study. If you choose to go with a closet office, be sure to make allowances for sufficient lighting as these spaces often lack natural light.
Another way to incorporate a home office/ study area into your home is to create a dedicated space in the kitchen. This can be achieved by bringing in a desk and other office furniture or by taking on a small kitchen renovation in which a built-in desk space is constructed to fit seamlessly with the rest of the kitchen design. Having a home office in the kitchen is a good idea for families with children who may need to keep an eye on the goings-on of the household while working and for parents who need to monitor children’s school work while keeping house. An item to consider about an office in the kitchen, however, is that because the kitchen is often the central room in the home, noise distraction may be an issue. There are ways to overcome this hurdle, though, such as noise-cancelling headphones. A good storage system is a must for a kitchen office in order to keep things looking neat and tidy.
Other areas in the home to consider are the nooks and corners of the home that aren’t currently being used otherwise. Think of the square footage in your home that is least used and imagine the possibility of converting it to an office space. Marks-Woods has lots of experience helping families think creatively when it comes to making the most of a home’s square footage and turning ‘dead space’ in the home into functional space. A great home office needs storage, work space, and sufficient lighting. We would love the opportunity to help you explore the possibilities for an office/ study space in your own home.
