In today’s working world, the distance from our homes to our offices can sometimes be just a few steps away. That’s because more and more people are working from home. Whether you’re running a small business from home or you simply need a quiet place to get work done when you’re not at your regular office, these home office design ideas will help you turn a spare room into the dream office you’ve always wanted!

• Find a Spare Room You Can Use for Your Home Office
• Design Your Home Office for Your Needs
• Decorate with Home Office Furniture Basics

Find a Spare Room You Can Use for Your Home Office

If you’re not sure where your DIY home office should go, start looking around for unused space around your home. Below are a few options for common rooms that can easily be transformed into a workspace!

Extra Bedroom

Does your home have an additional bedroom that you don’t use? This is an ideal space for an at-home office! Bedrooms are spacious, have good lighting from overhead lights and windows, and usually include closet space that can work for any office storage you’d need.

Walk-In Closet

Maybe you have a closet that’s the size of a small bedroom. This can also work for a home office setup. In fact, if you work in fashion or run an Etsy shop, you can even double up this spare room as an office and a glamorous wardrobe or a storage space for your inventory.

Basement

Sometimes, your best bet for a quiet space is in your home’s basement. Especially if you have a finished basement, you’ll have plenty of room and access to a bathroom (and, in some cases, a small kitchen).

Attic

If space isn’t available below your home, perhaps there’s space above it! An attic can also work as a quiet area for work, and it provides some distance from the living and relaxing areas of your home.

Library

A home office can be an easy addition to a study or den that’s also being used for your personal home library! Since this space is already dedicated to quiet reading, it’s perfect for getting work done!

Design Your Home Office for Your Needs

When it comes to designing your workspace at home, it’s important to focus on how you need the space to function. Of course, you want it to look nice, but if your goal is to concentrate on your work, a design that incorporates a lot of furniture in a cluttered layout won’t be ideal. Here are some office design ideas!

Minimalist Design: Good for Productivity

There’s something about a room with clean lines, white walls, sleek furniture, and minimal decor that quiets a busy mind. If you’re someone who struggles with staying productive while working from home, taking a minimalist approach to your home office design will help you stay on track.

Comfortable Design: Good for Long Work Hours

A cozy chair that doesn’t make you shift around constantly, soft colors that help you feel more relaxed, and a desk that offers plenty of room to stretch out can turn your workspace into a comfortable command center where you can tackle projects for hours. Don’t forget fuzzy blankets and back-supporting pillows!

Inspiring Design: Good for Creatives

Whether you work in writing, design, photography, or another creative field, having an office at home that fits the style of work you’ll be doing can help you feel more inspired to complete projects. Think bright wall colors, eclectic furniture, large wall art with bold typography, and speakers for music.

Office for Two Design: Good for Shared Workspaces

When it comes to creating a shared office for you and your significant other, it’s a good idea to stick to neutral colors and themes. This way, the room feels like it’s a productive, comfortable space for you both. If you opt for a two-person desk setup, you can personalize your workstation with items that inspire you specifically. But if there’s only one desk that you share, be mindful of decorations.

Mix & Match Design: Good for Families

If you’re designing an office space at home that needs to function as both a place for you to work and for your kids to tackle homework or school projects, it’s good to blend styles that incorporate comfort, inspiration, and fun. You can pair vintage chairs with patterned rugs, classic paintings with motivational prints, and knick-knacks with storage shelves, mixing colors and designs that appeal to all ages.

Decorate with Home Office Furniture Basics

Before adding all kinds of personal items to your dream office, you’ll need to make sure you have the office furniture basics: a sturdy desk, a comfortable chair, good lighting, adequate shelving, and wall decor. Check out the following office furniture inspiration!

Desks

Floating desks, writing desks, storage desks, two-person desks, standing desks—there’s a variety of desk options available for your home office needs. Be sure to consider how much surface space you’ll need for the type of work you do, as well as whether or not you’ll want storage drawers.

Chairs

Comfort isn’t difficult to come by with an ever-growing selection of office chairs available! Obviously, style will be important, but you should also consider back support and desk height when looking at vintage chairs, rolling chairs, high-top stools, and contemporary armchairs.

Lighting

While it’s ideal to have an office space with good natural light, it’s also important to have other lighting in the room, especially if you tend to work more at night. From desk lamps and floor lamps to overhead lighting fixtures, there are several ways to add sources of light to your workstation.

Shelving

Ditch the traditional file cabinets for home office storage with more flair. Bookcases, overhead cabinets, and floating shelves allow you to effectively use vertical space and add more decorations.

Wall Decor

Fill an empty space on an office wall with bold artwork, framed photos, chalkboard paint, or mirrors. If you want wall decor that can also be used for extra storage, bulletin boards, cork boards, and wire grids can do the trick! For more office decor ideas, check out our 2023 Home Decorating Tips for inspiration!

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If you need to clear out space at home to create your dream office, you can always move items to a storage unit! Find a Find available storage units near you with Extra Space Storage today!