Cloffice Ideas: Creating a Closet Office at Home
Every square inch matters!
Working from home has become the new normal for many, and home offices are now high in demand. But there is one problem: If you don’t have a dedicated home office, it can get awkward. Whether your work stuff is permanently taking over the coffee table or your family is constantly interrupting your daily work duties, it is important to carve out some sort of office space to help keep your work life and home life as separate as possible.
If you don’t have a dedicated home office, there are still ways for you to create space for yourself. Enter the cloffice. Here’s how this great idea can be a solution to your work-from-home issues.
What Is a Cloffice?
A “cloffice” is a term coined for an office space inside a closet. Typically a cloffice is fully enclosed in a closet, but it can really apply to an office squeezed into any nook of your home.
Where Can I Fit a Cloffice?
A traditional cloffice would be inside a closet. Consider more than just bedroom closets – a space under the stairs, for example, is often a wasted space waiting to be transformed. A cloffice could also be fitted into a nook or corner of any room. Basically, any space that is out of the way and isolated can be turned into a cloffice.
Desktop
Every cloffice needs a desktop! This work surface is essential for resting your laptop, papers, and hot cup of coffee. You can either brace a piece of plywood on the walls, mount a butcher-block countertop, or even move a free-standing desk into your nook. Use as much space as you think you need for your computer and active working area.
To make your cloffice look even more put-together, add shelving overhead. This could be as simple as boards screwed into metal brackets. Fit two to three shelves that reach from wall to wall or the full width of your space to maximize your storage space.
You can style your shelves with decor, books, or baskets and bins of office supplies. Storing smaller items in bins keeps the shelves from looking too busy while still keeping necessities within arm’s reach.
Lighting is an essential part of any workspace. You will need task lighting to be able to work efficiently, but having pretty lighting makes a cloffice feel more like an office and less like an old closet. Ideas for easy lighting include push lights on the underside of shelves, plug-in sconces on the wall over your desk, or string lights strung across the shelving. If your closet has an overhead light already, swap out the plain round light that is there for something with a little more flair and more bulbs. It helps add more light to your workspace and add a stylish decor piece.
Seating
The most important thing in your cloffice is a comfortable chair. If you plan to be sitting for hours on end, you need a great place to sit. Stay away from office-looking desk chairs and instead go for something upholstered in a fabric that coordinates with your home’s decor. Bonus points for anything that rolls and spins.
A small office can still pack a mighty punch with storage. Think outside the box by incorporating rolling drawers under the desk, a flip-top desk with hidden storage, or bins on overhead shelving to maximize the usability of your small space. Don’t forget to add small boxes, bins, or trays to the desktop to keep your most-used necessities organized but still within arm’s reach.
Having an office space can make all the difference between productivity and a frustrating work-from-home experience. These ideas will help you to create a dedicated office space, even if you don’t think you have space for one in your home.
Morgan McBride is DIY lover and home decor enthusiast living in Charleston, South Carolina. She has been blogging at CharlestonCrafted.com alongside her husband since 2012, where they empower their readers to craft their home into their dream home through the power of DIY.
