With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, many more of us are working from home than ever. The main problem people are experiencing is not having an office space set up at home and they are working from dining tables or off their laps in the front room. This can pose challenges in terms of maintaining a correct posture so as not to cause an injury, other people wanting to use the room and also in demarcating work and personal spaces. In this article we will look addressing these issues with ideas on how to create a home office space.
Spare Room
If you are lucky enough to have a spare room, a guest room or even a dining room which is rarely used, then the most obvious thing to do is to set this up as an office area. This is probably the most ideal solution as you can buy a purpose made desk, set up some drawers or shelves for paperwork and have a proper supportive office chair. This room can be set aside for work only so there will be a really good divide between your work space and personal space, allowing you privacy to concentrate and the ability to close the door at the end of the work day.
However, we don’t all have the luxury of a spare room, so here are few ideas to help create a productive workspace:
Under the Staircase
If you have an open staircase then this can be the perfect place to place a workstation. There will be space for a small desk and a chair and with a good quality desk lamp you should have more than enough light. This desk from Wayfair is perfect as it has shelves at the high end where the staircase it at its highest and the desk will fit snuggly under the rest of the stairs.
Hidden Office
If you need to put your office space in a living area, then why not consider a hidden desk? You can potentially convert and old cupboard with some shelves and a drop down flat surface to work on or buy something like this hideaway computer desk. It looks just like a normal cupboard that you would use in your living room or dining room, but it is in fact a desk. At the end of the day you can simply put everything away and forget about work as it won’t be on display.
Garage
If you have a garage that you are not using to store your car or is not rammed with miscellaneous household items, then why not look at converting a part of it to a working area? You can go the whole hog and covert the whole garage to a purpose built office but, in an emergency, as long as you have power, internet connectivity, good lighting and heating then you can use the garage for an office too.
Alcove
If you have an alcove in your home, next to a fireplace for example, you could slip a desk and some shelves into the recess. If you are handy at DIY, then it should not be too hard for you to put in a shelf which extends out slightly from the alcove for the desk and then some basic shelves above it. Or if DIY is not your strong point then consider buying a small desk online to fit into the space.
Walls
Although this sounds a little futuristic, you could invest in a hanging desk and simply hang it from the wall where ever you have space. This Wall Desk from office furniture online is ideal. There are doors which cover shelves for your pens and pads and the desk portion simply folds up and down as required. This is a great space saving idea which also allows you to hide the work area at the end of the day.
Working from home can be a little intrusive with everyone getting in everyone’s way and evidence of work being on display all the time so you can’t unwind but with some imagination you can create a workable solution in any sized home.
