Home Office DIY: How to Create the Perfect Work Space in an Apartment

The remote work format has made us seriously rethink how to organize a workspace within the walls of our own apartment. We'll tell you how to create your own mini-office, even if it seems that the kitchen is the only suitable place for work.

Kristina Rodnova — founder and CEO of Rodnova Design, owner of an interior design and decoration bureau, and a psychologist

A home office is a new reality for many. And not everyone has a separate office where everything is subordinate to the work process and strictly office functional. No problem. You can easily set up your ergonomic workspace in an apartment, where concentration on productive tasks will be at its peak.

Besides, you can bring it to life according to your taste and boldly decorate it with materials that are not always appropriate in an office, and in most cases prohibited by corporate style.

Setting up a balcony or loggia

Balconies and loggias in recent years have become not just storage spaces for forgotten things, but an ideal place for work. If you work from home or simply spend a lot of time at the computer, organizing a workspace on a balcony is one of the best solutions. Even the most minimal area can be transformed into a mini-office to isolate yourself for creativity.

Certainly, such a balcony must be insulated and glazed, equipped with an air conditioner and blinds. To protect from cold in winter and heat in summer. However, such a space organization will require financial investment. But it's worth it — it's serious and long-lasting. To make the balcony warm like a room, you need to replace the glazing with thermal, insulate the floor, walls and ceiling. And then everything depends on taste, preferences, desires, and necessity.

Design: Maria Zaitseva

Window — a useful space for the workspace

Since more than a year many have been forced to work from home, during which even the least prepared spaces for work were converted into mobile offices. Niche in the bedroom and living room instantly became useful area. Indeed, unlike the kitchen, the bedroom is an ideal place for solitude. Nothing will distract you from work, except perhaps the desire to lie down horizontally. To avoid this temptation, position the table so that it’s not too inviting.

The most popular way to create a workspace is at the window, where a desk can be placed. The most entrepreneurial individuals solve to use the windowsill, increasing and turning it into a working surface. Plus a few touches in the form of a desk lamp and hanging shelves — and you can enjoy working.

Design: Anna Ignateva

Working away from prying eyes

By the way, the ideal option to zone your workspace is with a screen or curtain. Agree, this allows you to work more calmly on business matters. Zoning space with curtains is a well-known technique in interior design. Such a screen allows you to divide the room into two functional zones.

The plus in this variant is that there are no costs for capital repairs, the minus is the lack of any sound insulation. By the way, using color and design, curtains or screens can create a work mood or, on the contrary, make the workspace more home-like.

Movable ELEPHANT Office in a wardrobe? Impossible...

Wardrobes have long been part of the interior of our apartments. But an office in a wardrobe is something completely new for us. An office in a wardrobe is the perfect workspace for those who have very young children. Such an office is convenient to open and close as needed, and hide important things from curious eyes behind doors. In addition, thanks to the doors, you can regulate the area of the workspace, making it more or less open.

This kind of space organization fits perfectly into the interior of any room, because in closed form it is just an ordinary wardrobe that does not stand out from the overall design of the room. With proper space organization, there is easily enough room not only for a computer but even a printer and copier, and on the upper shelves some people even manage to leave space for laundry, towels, and other household items.

Design: Yana Volkova

Tuning into the work process using color

"You absolutely cannot work from bed or at a dining table," — psychologists say in unison. This is a place for rest, and during work it's very important to separate yourself from the main apartment. What to do if the area doesn't allow placing furniture and screens? Then color comes to the rescue — zoning can be done by painting a wall, specifically highlighting the workspace with a certain color.

Design: Family couple Marianna and Nikita on their own

By the way, skillful use of color is not only an ideal option for zoning a space, but also has a positive effect on achieving results in work. For example, psychologists have proven that color can improve not only mood but also work efficiency. Neutral tones help focus on the main task and avoid distractions.

For example, gray color helps create a calm atmosphere and set the right tone. But it shouldn't be too much. Psychologists suggest diluting gray with blue and white colors. By the way, don't get too obsessed with white either. While it evokes a sense of calm, confidence, and cleanliness, it can also evoke a feeling of emptiness and unwillingness to act and achieve. Of course, if there's too much of it. Therefore, it's better to choose not pure white shades in wall or furniture paint, but bone or milk color, for example.

Golden hues enhance intellectual activity. A similarly positive effect is also achieved with a not overly bright yellow color, which boosts activity and helps focus. This energetic color energizes and sets the tone for work. The thinking process is also supported by terracotta color and its shades.

Therefore, you can easily play with colors, choosing non-standard shelves, racks, and wardrobes. Those who are involved in monotonous work should pay attention to blue shades. They calm and relieve muscle tension, cultivate patience.

In modern realities, the workspace in an apartment is just as indispensable as the kitchen or bathroom. And, as it turned out, a workspace can be stylish, convenient, and comfortable, even when it seems there's no extra centimeter for an extra chair. Look, get inspired and act.