STUDY MULTI FUNCTION
11. Select furniture that can do double duty. Lots of people turn their dining rooms into offices, then never have a nice place for a sit-down dinner. Using a dining table in lieu of a desk means all you have to do is remove the laptop, set the table and voila — it's a dining room again. Using all of that upper wall space for storage means they don't have to fill up the floor space with filing cabinets. This room does not hide its dual purpose. But if you wanted to disguise the office look when using the space as a dining room, then matching the office built-ins to the wood cabinetry and creating closed storage to hide the office supplies would do the trick. Oh, and there's no law that says you can't use rolling chairs as dining chairs: I've seen dedicated dining rooms with this style of rolling chair all the way around the table. So, let's see, we've looked at offices sharing space with the kitchen, the bedroom, a yoga or meditation room, the dining room, a guest room, a laundry room and mudroom, a game room and the entire living area. If you can think of any other area and how to successfully incorporate the office into it, I'd love to hear from you! More: How to Turn a Clos...
4. Now it's an office, now it isn't! Use simple division to change the function of a room. It may take nothing more than a curtain to literally store the whole office out of view of the rest of the room. Do it right and hang luscious full-length drapery. When they are closed, the remainder of the room can be an inviting guest room, a peaceful sitting room, literally, whatever you want. Decorating the office area behind the curtain to coordinate with the rest of the room assures that it looks great even when the drapes are open. Traditional Home Office by This office definitely looks like one, with its rolling ERGONOMIC chair, adjustable desk lamp, and so on. But just as in the previous example, the entire office can be hidden, this time with folding doors. This office is in a closet in a dining room, but it works for any closet, even in a hallway.
2. Make your furniture mobile. CASTERS on this desk allow it to be rolled back so that the floor mat can be rolled out for yoga or meditation. Use LOCKING casters so your desk doesn't roll around while you're trying to work — unless of course, you enjoy that kind of thing. I love that the deep blue metallic stria faux-finish on the walls is equally suitable for promoting a calm place to work and a serene state of mind for meditation or yoga
1. Use your wall space for storing almost everything. I can't say enough about the benefits of the MURPHY bed. More comfortable than the ubiquitous sleeper sofa, the Murphy bed folding up against the wall is the best option for getting that spare bed out of the way and giving you maximum floor space for your office. Notice that even the little side table by the bed will slide back in to the display shelving on the wall. Wall storage above the desk gives you room for tools and materials for other activities without taking up floor space.
27. Nyclq's dramatic black-and-white workspace. A glamorous and chic space in all black and white, Houzz user nyclq's color palette started off with an attempt to display a collection of black-and-white photos of New York City. As the room evolved, it's become a personal and unique mix of photos, books and collectibles.
26. Galynn's rustic office fix. While galynn says that her current office is a temporary solution (due to construction on her house), it has a few unique features worth preserving. The desk is an antique with the drawers pulled out and wood put across the top for the keyboard. The wall behind the desk is TIN, and galynn is cleverly using magnets to hold photos and business cards to the wall.
25. Conwayni's bold and modern office. "I want to walk into my office with a feeling of power, like I can accomplish anything I want each day," Conwayni says. TWO different desks and a bright green Eames desk chair sit on top of a custom zebra rug. The glass desk is from Advanced Interior Designs, and the wall art is by Texas artist J.Trinh.
24. Becolorful's cheerful renovated sleeping porch. Housed in a former sleeping porch, becolorful's office space has beautiful old windows that were designed to drop down into the walls to expose the screens. "I can only imagine it would have been a blissful place to catch a few winks," she says. A passionate lover of color, she painted the walls in Valspar's First Kiss, and then put black-and-white linoleum on the floors for a bold and graphic contrast.
23. Bwahacker's sleek and tech-friendly office. Bwahacker's office is a computer lover's dream. A software engineer who works from home when not traveling, bwahacker usually spends about 60 to 80 hours a week in this room — so he wanted it to be a place he'd actually enjoy being in. All of the products in this space were chosen for efficiency and comfort. A Herman Miller Embody chair provides ultimate ergonomic comfort. The larger desk is from the Bush Furniture Series C collection, while the front desk is Design Within Reach's Dordoni Worktable.
SaveEmail The center work table in inmyownstyle's studio was made using two hand-me-down cabinets. On one side she placed a piece of cellulose-based fiber wall board so she can cut, paint and glue without damaging the table. An electrical OUTLET was installed on the floor under the table, so she can plug in a hot-glue gun, drill or other tool and have it right at hand. "I could not live a happy creative life without a space like this set up in my home," she says.
SaveEmail 21. Allende's creative and custom office space. The desk in allende's office is topped with steel rusted using s unique technique. Allende had a piece of steel cut to size, and then brought it outside and poured rock salt and Coca Cola all over it. She covered it with burlap bags for a couple months to RUST, and then sanded it and waxed it with BriWax for a smooth finish. This little nook (which was initially meant for an elevator!) is finished off with one of her own original paintings on the back wall.
SaveEmail 20. Lauratrevey's bright and colorful craft room. Lauratrevey's light-filled room provides her with inspiration throughout the entire day. The custom island was designed to store large watercolor paper. It's movable with casters on the bottom, so it can be placed anywhere in the room. Lauratrevey also created a large pegboard inspiration board to display framed and unframed watercolors. The walls and the pegboard are painted Spring Mint by Benjamin Moore.
18. INTERIORSbynanette's simply luxurious office. When designing her own office, interiorsbynanette knew exactly what she wanted. Two work stations were custom built against one wall, with regular drawers and file drawers easily accessible. A long wooden counter provides plenty of desk space, and overhead shelving houses her design books and magazines. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's Liberty Park.
15. Lookie's custom-made craft room. All of the furniture in lookie's craft room was custom made by her father, who's a fantastic craftsman. The black damask skirt around desk and the window treatment are all made out of four curtain panels from Hobby Lobby. "I love the skirt because it covers any mess that's underneath the desk," lookie says. The craft island was customized so that she'd have a specific place to hold scrapbook paper on one side, and a bin of wrapping paper on the other. Repurposed bar stools found at an estate sale fit perfectly on each side of the island.
SaveEmail 14. Lwarren2's smartly combined office solution. Houzz user lwarren2's office is a space for several very different types of activities — desk work, butterfly collecting and dancing. The desk is a Whalen steel work bench, topped with a butcher block. The large stainless steel cabinet underneath houses her husband's butterfly collection (although some are out on display for eye candy as well). There was even enough room in the space for lwarren2 to put in a portable dance floor!
SaveEmail 13. Ahaytaian's relaxing and bright studio. This soothing office belongs to Houzz user ahaytaian. Located on the east side of her home, it's full of beautiful natural light for most of the day. The cabinetry and desk set was custom built in a fresh white. The walls are done in a custom faux finish with blue tones. The modern chairs are from Space, a New Jersey boutique.
12. Safbham's inspiring artistic collections. Safbham's space is filled with items for inspiration — creative works of his own, random collections, and early American art works. A wall of cupboards is perfect for housing necessary craft supplies, and a marble-topped table is a great work surface. "With so much inspiration all around me, I really don't miss the fact that the room has NO WINDOWS," safbham says.
SaveEmail 11. Sandymac's shabby chic office. Inspired by a studio apartment she once rented on Oahu, sandymac decided to outfit her office with the same Mitchell Gold couch the owner of the apartment had. The coffee table and built-in bookshelves were custom made by a local artist. The pillows on the couch were designed by her girlfriend. The wall color is called Windswept Sails. "It's a very calming, yummy pale green," she says.
This room was initially a family room, so sclark3034 decided to keep the sitting area in her office. The couch was a Craigslist find, and the brown chairs were found for free and reupholstered. The floors were salvaged from a family member who was getting new flooring. "It feels so good to take something that is secondhand, hand-me-down, or junk, and give it a new life," she says.
9. Sclarke3034's second-hand finds. Since sclarke3034 runs a preschool business from her home, she knew that she needed a space all to herself. Almost everything in this space has been repurposed in some way. The sideboard is made up of two painted cabinets that were found in a friend's garage. The desk was previously her dining room table, that they simply cut down in width and reattached the legs to.
8. Stmichael's eco-friendly office space. Stmichael's office was built with energy efficiency in mind. The Marvin windows were custom designed so the upper windows have maximum insulation and heat reflection; the lower windows are designed to allow heat in during the winter when the sun is lower on the horizon. The floors are made out of solid bamboo, and were installed on a hydroponic heat subfloor. The ceiling beams are reclaimed antique beams salvaged from a railroad station.
5. Danwa's office of ancient history. A historian at a German University, danwa has collected a lot of books over the years. This impressive display took nearly 10 years to build – but it's only one of two parts! The shelves are just IKEA BILLY bookshelves in beech. In addition to her interest in ancient history, danwa is also a photographer of modern architecture and interior design, so he loves a strong and minimalist look. The office floor lamp is the IMOLA XL Stehleuchte. The desk is from IKEA, and the black chair is the Cassina LeCorbusier LC2.
Have you given your house an otherworldly glow? Tell us about it in the Comments section below.
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