The Little Office That Could

by megclark

1.7K63

Intro: The Little Office That Could

My fiance and I are students and young professionals living 7 miles outside Washington, D.C. I'm so frustrated with the lack of space to do our work. Currently we rely on wall-to-wall bookshelves, an oversized desk, a very old, ugly, and creaky filing cabinet, and one office chair. It would make our long days and challenging commitment to our studies so much easier if we had a reliable and feasible workspace to share. We'd love for the office to function as a place for guests to stay, too - that would relieve the burden of scrambling for the air mattress or forcing guests (including my 80-year old grandmother...) to sleep on the couch.

3 Comments

jeanicrowe 10 years ago

you don't give the room dimensions, but I'm going to give it a shot. You could start by building book cases 2 layers deep, in narrow sections, with the front cases on sliders so they can be moved either direction to access books behind. The big square desk is an absolute waste of space. If you store much on it it looks cluttered and when you consider the amount of space it takes it, its a 'has to go'! you can make a slim functional space by sitting a piece of nice plywood on two short file cabinets then all of your stuff is at your finger tips. or, on the other long wall you can place a single bed and place a piece of plywood hinged to the wall that will drop down over the bed for a daytime desk that will fold up against the wall so Grandma can sleep in comfort. if you have enough space on the wall opposite the window, make a narrow closet with shelves on either side. You can put one of those 3 drawer plastic units in it for Granny's unmentionables and closet rod long enough for her coat and a couple of other hangars. She can put her shoes on top of the drawer unit. When Grandma goes home, store the bedding in the closet on top of the drawer unit. you can put pretty nicknacks or plants in the shelves on either side of the closet and cover the door with a full length mirror so Grandma can be sure her slip doesn't shoe. I don't see the electronics in this room, but you can possibly install a computer in the outer bookcase so grandma can watch a video or email her friends in the privacy of her 'guest room' in the evening. And don't forget you can put a shelf over the door to hold extras, like office supplies in a pretty container.

rickharris 12 years ago

Much is so personal that only by sitting down with you could any designer help.

Try this Make what is called a mood board by finding things you like on the web or in magazines and cutting them all onto a single page. Colours shapes, equipment even rooms you like.