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Organizing the Home Design Dilemma home office

looking to update our small loft space.

5 years ago

Currently it is a place where our teens flop, extra furniture gets stored and I try do my paperwork up there as well. Would like it to be a calm quiet place where I can have my desk and perhaps a sofa bed and a small spot for yoga or meditation. Needs fresh eyes. Also to the right of where the desk is now is where it overlooks the living and dining room and lots of windows to the outside. Any thoughts?

Featured Answer

decoenthusiaste

5 years ago

So, post fresh pix next week when the stuff is gone already. I suggest you search the box above under Photos for the terms "meditation room" and "yoga room" and start an ideabook using the ones you really like. Paint will probably be the big game changer, as will the right flooring.

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Comments (8)

phuninthesun
5 years ago
This is a very fun space! Which items need to stay?
Kerry Ringness
Original Author
5 years ago
Everything can go. I’ll need a new desk of some sort. And need to be able to access the doors to the under eave storage space on either side of the loft.
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Yikes! I didn't know that about pop-up trundles. Good to know so as to avoid them. I wonder if there are different quality ones that might be better? The day bed looks like it might work for kids, but I would hate to be the person in the back who would be up against a wall and have to climb out over the front person. eta: I looked again and it looks like it can be designed so there is no back on it, which might work perfectly, so you can have it away from the wall for access from both sides.
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That's a beautiful home. I don't think that area really NEEDS anything. If you need a place to put your keys and your purse, mail, etc, a small table like is there will work, maybe even a narrower taller one and have it face the door (on the taller wall). Wait until you actually move in and see how you live in the space. You may not want anything there either.
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phuninthesun
5 years ago
This space gives you plenty of opportunities to add built-ins along the back wall.
I would start with painting the walls a warm white.
Kerry Ringness
Original Author
5 years ago
@phuninthesun those are very helpful layouts. Thank you. Will keep you posted on our “afters.”
lazy_gardens
5 years ago
Keep the cats.

Eliminate the clutter of books and odd shelving by building matching bookcases on the gabled end or ends for them. Full-height, or even IKEA Billys of various heights. But matching and covering the entire wall or walls.

Clean out the files and get rid of any paperwork you don't absolutely have to keep. You might be able to move it all to document boxes on the shelves.

Put the desk where the light from the skylights is best. Perpendicular to the wall under the skylights might work, facing the LR area and the windows. That puts the bookcase behind you for papers and references.

For the "in the eaves" storage, haul it ALL out into the loft and vacuum the storage. Get rid of the stuff you were storing "just in case", outgrown clothing and tattered storage boxes. Rearrange things in there so the stuff you need most often is close to one of the hatches, and the once a year stuff is near another. All the holiday stuff, all the heavy clothing ... whatever. Put it back in labelled boxes.

Instead of a sofa bed, consider an air-bed for guests.

Bring in a comfy chair for reading, maybe placed near that railing so you can sit there and see out the windows and check on the rest of the house.
AnnKH
5 years ago
Lazy_gardens is spot on - the first step here is to get rid of as much as you can. This is a process - probably not a weekend job! You need to inventory and evaluate everything, asking yourself if you use it, and if you love it. But once you see what you REALLY need to store, it will be a lot easier to organize the space in a pleasing way.

One challenge with this kind of storage is putting things back where they were, simply because that's where they were before. Optimize your "prime real estate" - the space with the best lighting. Decide which one or two tasks will be primary for the room, and concentrate on those. Right now it's trying to be too many things, which makes the room feel unsettled instead of peaceful.
Kerry Ringness
Original Author
5 years ago
Good suggestions...now the elbow grease! Thanks everyone!

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