Home hack: the closet office is your new work bestiefeatured
Good news, friends! You don’t need a fancy schmancy office to get work done- or even feel like you have a space of your own. Got a closet? Then you’re halfway to “closet office” greatness.
Meet: The Closet Office
The very best thing about turning a closet into an office is that it’s already a delineated space. It’s like its own little room! …That you can’t/shouldn’t sit all the way inside! (Although, full disclosure, I had a closet office when I was about 9 and it housed a full-service detective agency. I sat inside with the doors closed. Potential clients did, too. I’m surprised the business didn’t take off.)
But back to your new closet office space.
Got doors that you like? Keep ’em on.
(That way you can close it all up when “business hours” are done.)
However, if you’re like me and dig a slightly more open look/want to see the purty inlay of your desk every time you walk by…take the doors off the track. (And then unscrew the track, slightly sand down the line where it had been, and paint it the same color as the closet trim. Boom. Open concept office!
Now, to trick out your workspace:
The best part of a project like this is that it’s supposed to be modular (read: fully changeable next year). A desk you love, some standalone shelving with enough space for baskets, boxes, and file folders, and some wiiiide space up top for a piece of artwork or wall hanging you adore. (Reason #26751 this ain’t no cubicle.)
The only exception to the “everything modular” rule is a good set of fixed shelves. And guess what? The depth of most closets jives pretty nicely with the width of most bathroom shelves. Use up that side space- and hide a lot of [well-organized] stuff! (We had a couple of old white bathroom shelves that happened to fit perfectly inside my closet, but something pretty like this one from the Home Depot would work beautifully.)
Want to see the tutorial of how I created those side shelves? Onward!
Now, to trick it out.
This is where all of those found treasures can come in mighty handy. Small standalone bookcase? Short chest of drawers? Or- in my case- a hefty shoe shelf that separates into two level pieces (which I finished off with a layer of gold spray paint on the unpainted tops)? Here’s their moment to shine. Mix and match and mix and match and mix and match some more.
Stick with a general color palette of 3 or so colors– it may not be a cubicle, but you don’t want to be distracted all day long by a kaleidoscope of colors, patterns, and small spinny toys. (For example.) I use a lot of white, warm brown, and gold for my “basics,” and then pepper in splashes of color alongside the inevitable pops of the files, supplies, and collections themselves. (As well as a slightly questionable number of pewter and glass animals. But hey, you live your own truth.)
See the shimmer of gold at the back inlay of my desk? That was done with a beautifully shiny paper I love and a hefty amount of hot glue, but contact paper would work well, too. (Measure, measure, measure three times for this one, guys. Nothing is less “work flow” than staring at an uneven- or too short- desk backsplash.)
And you need lovely spots to keep your notes and ideas, right? My beautiful bulletin board tutorial will come in pretty handy for this one, too!
Most importantly…
Have fun with this one. The whole point of a home closet office is that you get to kick “stuffy” to the curb and make it feel like, well, a part of your home.
Inspired? Awesome.
Get to work.
Have any home office hacks you’d love to share?
Comment below!
