[Closed] home office setup

Let's see a pic of the space, and then that'll give us ideas of what to do in it.

I've built myself a computer desk in the past, to fit into a small space too narrow for a standard width one. Current set-up includes a desk made from a bit of left over kitchen worktop (very tough and easy to clean spilt tea etc); you might find a suitable off cut at B+Q etc or a DIY shop. Legs made from twobetwo pine timber. Shelf system made from rough sawn timber and particleboard. Basic yet functional and cheap. Probbly less than £40 the lot.

Ventilation will be an issue in such a small space, so if you're going to have a door to close it in, you'll have to consider airflow to keep you and the equipment cool, and for you to breathe!

You any good with using woodworking tools? MDF is very useful in such situations. Plywood is more spensive but don't need coating necessarily.

That metal shelving stuff is very versatile, but can cost a bit.

Show us pics!

Have a look at the Ikea website.
My business is based at home and although I have a much bigger space (converted large double garage) I bought all the desks and shelves from Ikea - they've got stuff to fit pretty much every size space.
If your office doesn't look nice/isn't a place you like being you're not going to want to be there and that will impact on your work.
Try and make it look as good as you can and you'll enjoy being there more.
That said, my office is currently full of storage boxes and needs a damn good clean out. 🙁

IKEA seconded. Lots of good space saving storage ideas and plenty of websites about "IKEA Hacking" if you want to personalise it a bit.

http://www.ikeahackers.net/

[url= http://www.ikeahackers.net/ ]Ikea, and then get inspiration from the Ikeahackers website - some innovative ideas.[/url]

[url= http://www.flickr.com/groups/lifehacker-workspace-showandtell/ ]And have a look at the Lifehacker Workspace flickr page for some more ideas. [/url]

Be creative..!

EDIT - beaten to it.

Ikea ftw - you might not like their aesthetic style or you might just hate them because they are popular, but when it comes to getting the most out of a small space for not much money whilst looking decent, they can't be beaten. They have a big home office section.

But whatever you do, don't make it look like this... Arrgh my eyes!

[url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5009/5247031647_8038282b2e.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5009/5247031647_8038282b2e.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/fun9us/5247031647/ ]at work...[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/fun9us/ ]fun9us[/url], on Flickr

Elfinsafety: "a desk made from a bit of left over kitchen worktop (very tough and easy to clean spilt tea etc)"

What is this 'etc' you speak of?

It's dead easy to build your own desk. Me & a mate put this together in an afternoon. It's in a corner of a big room & there's a wall just to the left (and a wide angle lens!) so it's actually a really small space. Nice thick MDF for table top ( I think it was 3/4"), 2x4 batons for legs & braces, a few coats of varnish, job done.

[img] [/img]

Ikea bargain section worktops are great for making stuff for your garage. I got a full 8ft length of primary yellow worktop for a fiver. Yellow! I can only assume someone got over excited and ordered it for their kitchen then sobered up and thought 'oh my god wtf was I thinking?' and returned it.

Handy for finding small bits of bike amidst piles of junk, but not for assaulting your eyes early in the morning.

pedalhead, is that Princess Leia (in more regal attire) in the pic second from the right?

If your office doesn't look nice/isn't a place you like being you're not going to want to be there and that will impact on your work.
Try and make it look as good as you can and you'll enjoy being there more.

The best bit advice IMHO

Make sure its a room you use only as your home office. Spend too much time in there doing other things and you'll soon get bored of it.

Failing that you could just rent a [url= http://www.storage-units.co.uk/storage-types.html ]storage room[/url] lol.

spacemonkey - Member
pedalhead, is that Princess Leia (in more regal attire) in the pic second from the right?

Yep, I'm a Star Wars geek, amongst other things. I collected quite a few autographed pictures for my home cinema room a while back.

Obviously you'll be needing one of these:

[url= http://www.hermanmiller.com/Products/Aeron-Chairs ]niiiiiice[/url]

The head office of Stoner Consolidated Industries Incorporated:

[img] [/img]

Kitted out with a bankrupt office furniture supplier from southampton, but based on eBay. Cheap as chips, came delivered on pallets ready to screw together. Proper commercial quality stuff.

better pic
[img] [/img]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Something like pedalhead and stoners would be ideal but Im talking a space more like faroe islands compared with Canada

The room is really a a cupboard, Ill take a pic later and post it up, the space is 1.3m deep and 1.1m wide, I know its tiny. Im really just looking for somewhere I can leave folders and files somewhere that is reasonably accessible and I some desk space where I can have the laptop and printer sitting to separate working time from stw time :D. I dont have to spend lots of time there, Im an electrician and its just to do the invoices/quotes etc and saves me mounting a full on invasion of the livingroom as I currently do.

Im reasonable with woodworking so any modifications should be ok.

Ill have a look at the Ikea and hacking sites and see what ideas I can get from there to maximise the space

Another option (depending on who is paying) is to work from a serviced office building.

I used to work from home, but it became a bit impractical when our baby arrived and I wanted a bit more work/home separation, so I now work from a serviced office.

It's basically a cupboard with a window, desk, filing cabinet and internet connection - but it gets cleaned and I have a (shared) secretary to answer calls if I want.

m an electrician and its just to do the invoices/quotes etc and saves me mounting a full on invasion of the livingroom as I currently do.

Ahh scrap the serviced office idea then 🙂

1.3m deep and 1.1m

I'd go for some sort of full height floor to ceiling shelves at the back with a deeper desk shelf nearly the full depth of the room, just enough room so that you can push the chain under the desk and close the door. May be a flap on the desk either up backwards like a piano or better still hinged on the side wall and to the side to give you better access to shelves under the desk. Infrequently used things stored on shelves under desk, frequently used stuff stored above desk. Sit with the door open while working, rehang to the door so it opens outwards if needs be.

Some baton, mdf, hinges and paint will be all you need. Once it is stuffed with folders computer e.t.c as long as it's painted up well it should look good as long as you're not hamfisted.

Mine is really tiny, and a bit untidy at the min...

Corner desk and a set of shelves from Ikea is all I could fit in. Wouldn't work without a corner desk.

[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]

I hate working at corner desks - they make me want to puke. Personal preference, obviously...

ApartmentTherapy often has ideas too.

beggers can't be choosers!

pedalhead wins for pure 3 monitor awesomeness

No, no, I'm sure. It would just make me want to scream every day, tho! Just changed job to place where mega-expensive workpods are all corner desks. Put my printer in the corner...

Micro office: http://lifehacker.com/#!5791038/curtains-closets-and-clever-organization-a-tiny-vertical-workspace

beggers can't be choosers!

This isn't always true. Some bloke asked me if I could get him something to eat, when I was going into Somerfield once, and I said I|'d get him a sandwich. I asked him what sort of sandwich he'd like, and he said 'prawn'. 😐

They din't have any prawn sarnies, so I got him chicken instead. He seemed somewhat dissapointed. 😳