Working from Home? 10 Small Home Office Ideas to Spruce Up Your Work Area

There was always one great thing about going into the office every day, and that was the fact that we had a designated workspace. 

Now, after the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more businesses have shifted to a remote or hybrid working model and we’re left to work from anywhere we can find within our homes. While the commute from the bedroom to the dining room is lovely, there’s no denying that a designated workstation makes for a more productive day. 

Here’s a list of 10 small home office ideas to help you spruce up your workstation so you can find more enjoyment and satisfaction in your work day. 

Olsen Office Desk

Why is Setting Up a Designated Work Space Important in Your Home?

A designated workspace helps you differentiate the hours between work and your home life away from work. 

When you have a set working space, you minimise outside distractions, such as daily household chores. For example, if you sit at the kitchen table to do the majority of your work, you may feel compelled or even guilty for not cleaning the kitchen. 

With a defined work area, you can reduce those outside distractions. Suddenly, your work-life becomes more functional and productive. On the opposite side of the coin, you can also leave work “at the door” when it’s time to log off for the day. Instead of feeling obligated to continue working past your billed hours, using these small home office ideas can help you uphold a better work-life balance.

How to Set Up a Small Home Office in 4 Steps

Before narrowing down your design ideas, you’ll first want to set up a small home office space. This is especially true if you have been maneuvering from one location to another without a defined area. 

Here’s how to do it in 4 easy steps: 

1. Your Room Layout and Positioning

First, determine the room you’ll have your home office in. Once you have decided that, take a good look at the room’s layout and how you’ll want to position your office space. 

Will an L-shaped office space using the corner of the living room allow you to fit in an office desk and a swivel chair? Can you position an office desk in front of a window to offer natural lighting? 

Don’t forget that you don’t need a tonne of space. A small area in the corner of a  room or even placed on the stairs’ landing can be great options for a workspace. 

2. Keep Your Small Home Office Separate from Living Areas

As best as you can, keep your home office separate from your living areas. This will give you the sense of leaving work at work, rather than taking it home with you. 

This can feel a bit overwhelming if you don’t have a spare bedroom that you can create into a modern home office. But tucking into corners, choosing small areas that aren’t the high-traffic sitting areas, and getting creative with how you can “put away” work for the day is helpful. 

Don’t worry, we’ll get to all of those small home office design ideas in just a moment. 

3. Choosing Colours to Help You Focus

Believe it or not, prioritising the colours of your home office space can help you focus more on your work and find more productivity in your day. 

When it comes to choosing paint colours for your home office, finding colours that are known to reduce stress are ideal. That typically includes colour schemes with beige, green, yellow, or blue. These are also great options for other interior design colour schemes, which is perfect if you need to share a living space with your workstation.  

4. Picking Out Furniture for Your Home Office

Finally, what’s an office space without the right furniture to help you boost productivity and efficiency? The best thing to do is choose home office furniture that offers support as you sit in front of a screen. Comfort is the next most important factor to consider. Finally, 

Most home office furniture choices include:

10 Small Home Office Ideas

With your office design set up, it’s time to get creative with office ideas that have you feeling more excited about working from home. 

These 10 small home office ideas will help you get started: 

1. Find a Window for Natural Lighting

Denver Office Desk

Working in front of a window does two things that are incredibly important for your day-to-day work tasks. 

The first is that it gives you more lighting so you’re not straining your eyes as you sit in front of a computer. Natural lighting, considering it is natural, reduces headaches and eye strain from using too many artificial lights. 

The second thing a window does is it breaks up the monotony of the day. There’s nothing that decreases productivity and efficiency like looking up from your computer screen to see a blank wall and nothing more. 

You’ll be amazed at what working next to or in front of a window can do for your daily work. 

2. Combine Your Bedroom and Your Work Area

If you don’t have a designated guest room or spare bedroom that can be turned into a workspace, don’t fret. There are many ways to turn a small portion of your bedroom into a modern home office. Here’s how: 

If you don’t want to clutter your bedroom with too much office furniture or necessities, then don’t forget to use your walls. The floor to ceiling wall space is just as effective as floor space. Try hanging shelving or bulletin boards to use up the walls as much as possible. Your bedroom will feel much less cluttered doing so. 

And speaking of shelving, you can easily get creative with a shelf as a home office desk if you’re combining your design with your bedroom. Floating shelves take up much less room than traditional home office desks, making your space feel much larger. 

If you feel as though you want to close the door to your workspace each day, then try repurposing a larger closet. Even a small walk-in closet makes for an excellent small home office idea. 
You can use closet shelving as a makeshift desk, or you can pull out the shelving and put in an office desk. A small desk lamp can give you adequate lighting to work productively. And at the end of the day, you can shut the closet door and leave work behind (until the next day, that is).

3. Get Creative With Your Space

A lot of smaller homes don’t have designated areas for a home office. Yet, that doesn’t take away from the need for a home office space. Try using the space you do have. Re-purpose areas that aren’t used frequently, such as a breakfast nook, an eat-in kitchen, or even the space under the staircase. 

4. Add Creative Lighting

Clara Office Desk

Overhead lighting, especially fluorescent bulbs, can lead to headaches as you work through the day. Rather than resort to solely using overhead lighting, try making the office cosier. Add in floor lamps and table or desk lamps to increase focus. 

5. Adopt the Minimalist Mindset

In a traditional office setting, we typically accumulate all sorts of things, from paperwork to office supplies to certain office furniture. 

At home, we do the same thing. 

With the increasing popularity of remote-working models, we’re now combining the “stuff” from work and home into one area. All of the work clutter and home clutter are known to cause negative effects on our health. 

If you feel as though you get stressed easily or overwhelmed, then adopt the minimalist mindset. Clear your home office setup from any unnecessary clutter, knickknacks, or other office things. When you do, you’ll more than likely find that you get more done for work. Plus, decluttering your work area will make your space feel larger than it might be.

6. Make It Personal, Just Like at the Office

Whether you’re trying to reduce clutter or not, you can still make your home office feel personal.  Use your wall space to add personal touches, just like you would at your office. Use shelving to add picture frames or even small potted plants. Create a gallery wall with photos and bulletin boards. 

7. Add a Pop of Personality with a Wallpaper Accent

You don’t have to stare at a blank, boring wall all day when you’re working from home. In fact, these walls are another way to add your personality to your modern home office design. Add a touch of fun with a wallpaper accent wall. Find one that incorporates a colour palette and pattern that matches your style. 

In the right scenario, a wallpaper accent wall can also help you distinguish your home office setup from the rest of your living area. 

8. Create a Multi-Purpose Workstation

Your home office doesn’t have to only be for work. Instead, you can create a multi-purpose workstation and use it for many of your household tasks, too. 

Allocate a small dividing wall between your living room and kitchen or any other two rooms as the space. Use it as a small work area for both your day job and your household tasks, such as paying bills, making grocery lists, or setting appointments. 

Add a narrow office desk for a laptop. Don’t forget to use your vertical space for office supplies storage. 

9. Stay in the Corners 

Compact Desk White & Grey

Corners are natural nooks to house your small office space. If you need to share your office with living spaces, then opt for those corners as best as you can. The eye naturally overlooks these areas of the home, so tucking your work items there allows you to differentiate between work time and leisure time. 

10. Transform a Shed Into a Work Area

If you have an outdoor area that’s not otherwise being used, then it may be a great option to transform it into a work area. It’s an excellent way to keep work and home life even more separated.  Plus, using a shed that overlooks a beautiful outdoor area is a great way to find inspiration in your daily work life. 

Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you have to settle for boring walls or a space that feels too cramped and crowded for you to be productive. These small home office ideas will help you create a spruced up work area that leaves you feeling inspired with your work again. 

Ready to start your home office design project? We’ve got all the everything you need for your home office!