11 Ways to Create a Multipurpose Office Space
See how to include an office in your kitchen, dining room, guest room, living room, mudroom and more
Pangaea
October 18, 2011
If you are like a growing number of people, you do at least part of your work from home. If you don't have the luxury of a dedicated room for that, you may find yourself having to create an office that is truly multipurpose. Here are 11 great ideas for working an workspace into just about every other type of room, from putting your desk on wheels, to hiding your work in a cabinet, putting it on plain view, and more.
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.
Shop Murphy beds on Houzz
Shop Murphy beds on Houzz
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.
Find a desk with wheels
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.
Find a desk with wheels
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.
3. Avoid the cubicle-farm look when selecting your office furniture. Let’s face it, many of us choose to work from home because we can’t stand cubicle farms. So, why would you want your own home office to look like, well, a cubicle farm?
This office in a bedroom looks spectacular with a glamorous black chair instead of the typical office chair. They’ve used a good-looking table lamp instead of the usual anglepoise desk lamp, and the desk itself is a beautiful piece of furniture. Note that there is a lit mirror on the desk too, so this desk doubles as a vanity.
This office in a bedroom looks spectacular with a glamorous black chair instead of the typical office chair. They’ve used a good-looking table lamp instead of the usual anglepoise desk lamp, and the desk itself is a beautiful piece of furniture. Note that there is a lit mirror on the desk too, so this desk doubles as a vanity.
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.
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.
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.
5. If you can’t hide the office, at least hide the work. Not every room has a spare closet in which to hide the office.
But if you can fit everything you need into a secretary desk, then you can close up the desk itself and still hide the office. This can work whether you have a beautiful traditional room like this, or …
But if you can fit everything you need into a secretary desk, then you can close up the desk itself and still hide the office. This can work whether you have a beautiful traditional room like this, or …
... a very contemporary room like this, or ...
... a more transitional look.
Secretary desks come in all styles.
6. Combine compatible functions. If you typically fit your office work with household chores, consider creating your office space in the same area to save steps.
Seen from the other end of the room, this looks like it also serves the mudroom function, so it's a perfect spot to keep an eye on the comings and goings of kids too. If you don't need or want perfect peace and quiet for your office space, being in the middle of the daily household action can be very handy.
7. Flaunt it. This photo and the next two are of an open-plan home where the office, living room, TV viewing area and dining room are all completely open to each other. Instead of trying to hide the office or to disguise the purpose of it, they just design an office that is so cool it looks great in the open space.
The light green Lucite display shelving doesn't hide the office, but it defines the space so that it feels set apart from the other activities in the room. The black office chair is a nice one and it works in the contemporary space. The built-in storage is all in the same wood and cabinetry style as the rest of the space.
8. Be selective about what you put on display. Although I think this is great advice even for a dedicated office with a door you can close, it is extra important in a multi-purpose office space. With your office open to the main living area, you want to be sure to hide papers and cords that might look messy, so some closed storage is a must. There are some books in the open storage above the desk, but just a few. Hide that collection of dog-eared paperbacks.
8. Be selective about what you put on display. Although I think this is great advice even for a dedicated office with a door you can close, it is extra important in a multi-purpose office space. With your office open to the main living area, you want to be sure to hide papers and cords that might look messy, so some closed storage is a must. There are some books in the open storage above the desk, but just a few. Hide that collection of dog-eared paperbacks.
This angle shows the dining area next to the office area. The black chairs work well with the black used in the office chair and the black of the desktop shown in the previous photo.
This office is also out in the open in the heart of the home. Using the same cabinetry style as the rest of the home and very carefully editing items out on display help this office to fit right in. This is a nice option if you would feel isolated working in a closed room all by yourself.
Locate a cabinet professional near you
Locate a cabinet professional near you
9. Think about combining your office with the kitchen. This is such a popular spot for home office space that many builders are now including a built-in desk area. If you are a work-at-home mom or dad and need to keep an eye on your children or dinner as it simmers on the stove, this can be the best spot for your multi-purpose office space. In this kitchen the cabinetry for the desk is built in and they are using an attractive chair that coordinates with the barstools.
If all you need is a spot to sit down with your laptop and a little desk space, the solution above could be all you need to create your kitchen office space. This would also be an ideal space for children to do homework with a parent nearby to help.
10. Consider combining your office with an area that is never used at the same time. For many of us, it doesn't work well to be in a room where other activities are going on at the same time. It can be very hard to concentrate with the distraction of others in the space. At first glance, you might think putting an office in a game room would not be compatible. But if you work during the day, and nobody uses the game room until the evening, then the two uses for this room can work out perfectly.
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 Closet Into an Office
Desk in the Bedroom: Yea or Nay?
How to Create a Client-Worthy Home Office
8 Ways to Rethink the Dining Room
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 Closet Into an Office
Desk in the Bedroom: Yea or Nay?
How to Create a Client-Worthy Home Office
8 Ways to Rethink the Dining Room
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Thanks for such a helpful article! My husband and I relocated a year ago and are still trying to figure out how to make use of the smaller footprint. I work from home and have felt like Goldilocks, going from one room to the other trying to find the "just right" space for my office. I had concluded my only option was to put an office "cubby" in a former closet in the dining room, but staring all day into a closet wall made me depressed and created all kinds of ergonomic and aesthetic issues.
Today I stumbled upon Case Design/Remodeling's beautiful pantry office featured in this article, and I had one of those "Aha!" moments. We have a pantry with a similar (but smaller) footprint, but this was all the inspiration I needed to haul my stuff into the pantry and carve out a cheerful space which also has the bonus of a window with a gorgeous western view. If I hadn't seen that photo, I would never in a million years have thought I could set up an office in this room and enjoy every aspect of it.
This is why I love Houzz! The designers are so generous with sharing their creative concepts, even though we readers might live too far away to ever have a chance to hire them. Thanks, Case Design, for helping me think outside the box!