Working from home isn’t easy if you have a houseful and are not set up with a private office…yet. You might be working from the sofa or the dining table, or an emergency setup in your bedroom. You might be not as enamored right now with that “open plan” concept that seemed so appealing when you imagined hosting gatherings of friends instead of trying to work from home with no ability to shut out the distractions and household noise.

The Portable Home Office

If you have to work from a portable office, you need some organization STAT to keep your sanity! I have a houseful, but also a home office. Unfortunately, my home office is in complete disarray pending repairs from a plumbing leak…which is, sadly, not happening anytime soon! So, I have set up camp in various locations in my house - the living room sofa and coffee table, my reading chair in my bedroom (which is where I am writing from today), and my dining room table.

Having a few things that streamline the essentials is key to making this temporary solution work: In addition to a laptop, having a tray to corral mail/phone/ipad/chargers/pens and notebooks, a pair of my favorite earbuds for calls/zoom meetings/and webinars, a portable file tote to keep current project files organized, and a mug that makes me smile are all helpful and easy to move from space to space as the need arises.

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Bluetooth Earbuds (I love these because they are comfortable and stay put!) | File Tote | Black Wooden Tray | Hand Pen Holder | Mug

A Dedicated Home Office

If you are lucky enough to have a dedicated space for a home office, or are enjoying the option of a commute-free workday and plan to outfit a home office for yourself in the near future, there are going to be things to consider that are particular to your business tasks, but some home office needs are universal.

Here is a checklist of the basics every home office needs:

• A work surface of some kind - desk, counter, or table

• A comfortable seat - either for a desk or as a reading/lounge chair or both

• Storage - most every business has at least SOME paperwork/file storage need, shelf, drawer, and/or cabinet space for supplies and reference materials, and usually a printer as well

• Ample accessible outlets for technology

• Appropriate lighting - both ambient and task

Below is an inexpensive solution (assembly required) for a flexible office storage piece. It comes in a variety of colors and can function as open shelves or, with the addition of baskets or fabric bins, closed storage. Orient it sideways for low storage with a top surface to hold a printer or other necessities, or use 2 or more to create a whole wall of storage or to flank a desk or credenza. Dimensions ~31W58H15D

Some ideas for potential spaces to create a home office:

• Convert an unused guest room

• Convert an underutilized closet

• Reorganize to create efficient space in a mudroom, back entry, or laundry room

• Reclaim a bonus room in a walk up attic or above a garage

• Convert an extra garage bay

• Convert an underused porch or sunroom nook

• Add an addition or outbuilding

Here is an example of a solution for “found”space to create a working office. This client had an underutilized mudroom/back entry next to the kitchen that we could easily adapt for an efficient office. The corner had custom built mudroom storage and a built-in bench already, but the rest of the space was mostly open floor space with a small writing desk, chair, aquarium, and dog bed against the walls.

Without any construction, we could simply add a storage/work wall with furniture, floating desk, and area rug, along with an existing chair. A folding screen keeps the office space separated from the entry. In the future, a wall could even be added to formally separate the office area from the mudroom, and French doors could be added to close it off from the kitchen if needed.

An alternative furniture arrangement might be the wall unit with a desk return shown in the curated selections below:

Ballard Tuscan Office | Desk Chair | 5’ x 7’6” Wool Area Rug | Desk Lamp | Rattan Waste Basket | Folding Screen

Having a home office space that is both a pleasant atmosphere and an efficient workspace is a big help in increasing productivity when working from home!

Details matter! We had these lovely custom drapes made to frame the pretty view from the desk for this home office. The embroidered linen fabric featuring our clients favorite color, blue, was the starting point for the whole room.

This built-in desk in a Brookline brownstone is an office design we did years ago for a busy professional couple. They wanted to convert this lovely turret bedroom on the second floor to a shared office space with two work stations and plenty of storage. We designed a workspace built into the curved wall with plenty of cabinetry, two spaces for desk chairs, and topped with a hard-working slate countertop surface. An adjacent fireplace with a pair of comfy chairs offers a second space for reading and relaxing in the room.

Need more home office ideas? Check out THIS post and THIS post for some additional suggestions, ingredients, and inspiration!

Keep calm and #WFH!