15 ideas for a multipurpose office/work space

Most often you can’t just detach yourself completely from your work so you have to bring it home with you. Whether it’s a rare thing or something you do all the time, you still need a space where you can work. But what happens when you don’t have the space for an office. Well…you don’t actually need a whole room for that so you can improvise. Multipurpose spaces are very practical and functional in any home. Here a few ideas.

Sunroom office

This is a detached guest house with a large family room that also has a corner office area. The guest house is actually very suitable because it gives you the peace and quiet you need while working. In this case, the work space has been organized in a corner where it benefits from lots of natural sunlight coming through the windows and large doors.

Sunroom office

When you’re concentrated it doesn’t even matter that much where you are. If you have a spacious kitchen, you might as well use that as your temporary office. You can use the kitchen island as a desk or the dining table if you have one in the kitchen. It can actually be quite cozy to work in there.

Sunroom office

This is a small office organized in a space that’s partially integrated into the living room. It’s private enough to allow you to work but it’s not completely separated from the rest of the rooms so you can also interact with the others and feel like a part of the group.

Sunroom office

Get creative and use whatever you have at your disposal. For example, the large kitchen tables can be placed next to one another and form an oversized desk. Bring them into the living room and turn the space into an office. You just need some chairs and, if you already have a bookcase in the living room, you also have the perfect décor for it.

Sunroom office

But you don’t necessarily have to change the whole room whenever you need some space for your work. If you’re clever and think in advance, you can use one wall of the room as your work area. Place a long desk along the wall, add a chair or two, some shelves above the desk and you have the perfect work environment.

Sunroom office

You can also integrate a small work area into the living room’s design while making it seem like a part of the whole. For example, your wall unit can cover an entire wall, even if it has a window. This way you can organize the space in front of the window as your mini-office. You would have sufficient natural light and you wouldn’t disturb the overall interior décor of the room.

Sunroom office

You can do the same with another wall, one without a window this time. You can use the space in front of the desk for storage and you can add shelves or compartments. The chair can match the sofa and the wall unit can be mixed piece used for storage but also as a desk.

Sunroom office

If you have an open floor plan, you should have plenty of space in there for a desk and a chair. You can place them next to the dining space, in a corner, in front of the window or wherever you find fit. Try to use furniture that follows the same style and to create a uniform and continuous interior décor.

Sunroom office

If you really have no free space I any of the rooms, you can improvise and build yourself a small office in the hallway. A small portion of a wall should be enough. It can be the wall adjacent to the clothes rack. You can also save some space by using a suspended storage cabinet placed above the desk. You can use one portion for your office supplies and the rest for other items.

Sunroom office

The space underneath the stairway would also be nice. It’s a space that usually remains unused so you would actually turn it into something useful. This small corner area should be large enough for you to organize a small desk with a chair and maybe even with some wall shelves.

Sunroom office

Many people prefer to work in the bedroom. It’s a space where they feel comfortable and where they can concentrate. However, you need to find a way to integrate both areas in a harmonious way so that they don’t clash. You could integrate your small work area into the storage wall or you could create a more casual working space.

Sunroom office

If your bedroom has a walk-in closet, then you can sacrifice that space and turn it into a work area. It would be small but it should be enough. And the best part is that you can hide it when not needed and your bedroom would remain cozy and inviting as always.

Sunroom office

Here’s another example of a very efficient way of using a closet. This is a living room closet and it’s larger than the one in the bedroom. A few shelves on the walls, a desk with integrated storage compartments and a chair completely transformed the closet into an office.

Sunroom office

When you have a small home, you can cleverly use the space by opting for multipurpose furniture. This way you can have a multipurpose room where the media unit can also serve as a desk and where a small table can serve as a breakfast space, work space or reading area.

Sunroom office

The kitchen still remains a favorite area for socialization, work, entertainment and easting. So be creative and expand a portion of the counter so that you can use it when you need to work on your laptop. You just need a bar stool and you’re ok. You can even have two such spaces. It can be useful for the kids and they can come in the kitchen when they need help with the homework or when they just want some company.

Sunroom office

This is an office in a home turret. It’s actually a study that also doubles as a reading room. The round shape of the room allowed for a counter to be wrapped along the wall and two work spaces to be integrated into its structure. Bookcases are placed at each end and the room is like a sanctuary for concentration and relaxation.

Picture sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 , 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15.