To address this lack of floor space, just like in a city when space is limited, we built up. Tall slender book shelves cover one side of the room, but the space above the desks were available for use.
After much consideration, it was decided that large cork boards made the most sense. Over the weekend, these images served as thinking points for the process as they all look great and feature interesting solutions to work space organization dilemas.
How do you stay organized in your home office, particularly when space is an issue?
(Image: 1. Martha Stewart; 2. The Well Appointed Desk; 3. Design Sponge; 4. Houzz 5. Martha Stewart)
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This is timely for me, our office needs to share space in a tiny living room and it's a struggle to think of a way to deal with it that doesn't look too much like a teenagers homework station.
The office needs to house computers, printer/scanner and all sorts of hubs/bits and pieces that you never see in staged photos. While I'd love to have a neat desk and a slimline laptop with a random vase of twigs, it ain't gonna happen with my little mountain of electronic crap.
This is also timely for me, as I'm considering moving my "office" into a kitchen with very high ceilings.
@Saraih: That's always my question: what to do with all the cords and awkward-sized electronics? I guess you could use a cabinet with holes in the back of it for cords?
I'd like to 2nd (or is it 3rd?) recommendations for tastefully hiding/camouflaging peripherals. Also, as gorgeous as most of these chairs are, they are totally impractical for long term use. I know many are willing to compromise function for form, but I'd like to see a survey of comfortable and at least semi-attractive seating options. My dream chair is an Aeron Size A, but I'd like to hear/see what others use.
Totally with you on the tech, @saraih. And on how tasks chairs fail at design, and pretty chairs fail at ergonomics, @embryoconcepts. I have devised some really weird and earthquake-unfriendly ways of dealing with cables, like leaving the backings off my Billy bookcases to allow for cord action and setting my printer up on a chair in the closet with just a cord snaking out under the door. I also just have a tangle of cables that anyone can trip on at any time -- it's the least sleek part of my setup.
I bought a pretty chair because I figured I could make it work, but I give up -- I ordered a standing desk to do away with such ergonomic concerns anyway. I'm sure that'll have its woes as well, but at least it has some built in cable management!
i'm so, so glad to see others commenting about office reality vs staged photos. i am just over and done with images of the pristine parsons table + carafe of water + unplugged laptop and a chair that would begin to hurt after about 28 seconds. either photo stylists don't have their own home offices, or the people they work for live in a fantasy world of twig chairs (orthopedic surgeons' dream) and sheepskin rugs (ever tried to move a wheeled chair over a sheepskin rug?). the reality is about cords...rooms built in the 1970s or before, with one outlet for everything...surge protectors...modems with ugly antennas...printers...file cabinets. how many people now work from home offices? this is not exactly a new trend. why aren't the shelter magazines, blogs and retailers picking up on this? a truly talented stylist/photographer (or west elm! or crate & barrel! or dwell! or elle decor! or pottery barn!) would find a way to address these issues. what's needed is a holistic approach to this issue. practicality AND beauty. a lot of people with money to spend are standing by for solutions....
Amen to that, Anne in the Office! Give me sweet solutions for dual monitors! They're both big. They wouldn't even fit on some of those cute desks. I want a stylish solution that doesn't look like a futuristic command center from the Matrix. And, for the love of all things sacred, make it a style that blends with the rest of my house, or at least doesn't clash. I am lucky enough to have a largish space for my office, but unlucky enough to have it visible from the rest of the house.