Making a Home Office in a Small Space

My daughter, Julianna resides in our guest cottage. Her plan, after graduating from college, was to live in our guest cottage for a year while she acclimated to a new job. Well, then the pandemic hit. Thankfully she is still employed and has been working virtually since last March. Our guest cottage is just that~a small cottage for guests. Since it doesn’t look like she will be returning to an office any time soon, she requires a designated place to work. Today’s post is about making a home office in a small space for her.

Finding a Place

Currently, her “office” is squeezed into the guest cottage living room. She also shares her living space with a large dog and cat. To see our sweet guest cottage, click here.

Last month, we added more internet coverage to the pool house and will set up her office here. The pool house isn’t used much during the winter months and it is a short walk from the guest cottage.

Existing Corner

Right by the back French doors, there is a cluttered corner that is the perfect small space for a home office. My first thought is go to Ikea and pick up an inexpensive desk. But we have SO much furniture here, why not use what we already have?

The Perfect Desk

The black desk in our family room is really a place for the printer (doesn’t everyone have a printer in their family room?). With the addition of the round table and 4 wing chairs, this part of the family room looks too crowded anyway.

So off to the pool house the desk goes! Actually we have two of these Drake writing desks in a black finish. The dimensions are 55″W x 25″D x 30″H. If you recall, the other one went upstairs to my son’s remodeled bedroom. See that post here.

Having a sheet of glass on top of the desk really does preserve the wood surface. Since my daughter has ruined a few desktops, this beveled topper is perfect for her.

Adding Elements

Using an existing pool house table lamp, the desk starts to come together.

A blue and white vase with faux flowers adds a touch of pretty to the desk. I love these faux peonies as they look attractive and can be added to a fresh bouquet of peonies to make a larger statement. These faux peonies can be found here.

A few other items makes the desk feel like it is ready for work~a filing basket and a place for pens and pencils. Naturally, she will add her computer and monitor, but for now, it is ready for her arrival.

This designated corner will be her office until who knows when. At least she will now have the guest cottage as her living space and this corner of the pool house as her work space.

The wing chair more than likely won’t work, but it looks good in the photos! Plus the wall behind the desk could deserve a piece of art too.

I am hoping that the pool house will be a remodeling project in 2021. For the last several years, it has been the place where the children hang out with their friends. The color scheme is yellow and blue. To see the story behind the pool house, click here.

The faux painted yellow walls are a bit dated. All the “stuff” that goes with X-boxes, video games, Wii and television viewing needs to be organized. My husband’s gargantuan Klipsch speakers (yes, from college) take up too much room. And the furniture holding all of that is tacky, at best.

Have you set up a home office space due to the pandemic? If so, what room did you use?

We are experiencing very cool, rainy weather here in Phoenix. Lots of snow up in the mountains too. Wishing you a warm Tuesday!

This post shared with Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday #627

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