We have a bedroom in the basement that I dream of turning into a dedicated office, but for now it's just a gathering spot for all the stuff cast out of other spaces in our home - in other words, it's a mess!
Eventually I'll make time to tackle that major project and create my dream office space, but in the meantime, I've been doing most of my work sitting at the kitchen table or on the couch, which isn't the best for my productivity. I needed a better place to focus on my work, so I recently decided to claim the desk in our guest room as my own mini-office. I was able to pack tons of function into this small space bedroom office.
A DOUBLE DUTY NIGHTSTAND DESK
When we picked the furniture for our guest room years ago, rather than matching nightstands on each side of the bed, we opted instead for one nightstand and one small desk. I wanted our guests to have a comfortable place to write or set up their computer.
I chose a {surprisingly comfortable} bamboo stool in place of a chair because it can be easily tucked out of the way under the desk. I originally styled the desk with a small lamp, a few boxes filled with notepads, pens and pencils, and a couple of candles. Many guests have used this mini-desk over the years, but until recently, I had never used it myself.
How to Create a Home Office in a Small Space: Nightstand Desk Bedroom Office Ideas
I'm so thankful for the ability to work from home and for the flexibility it gives me to balance my business and family life... but sometimes that balancing act results in things getting a bit mixed up. I really needed a solution to prevent my blog and client paperwork from getting mixed in with all of our family mail and papers, and to keep my business deadlines separate from our family calendar. And I really needed to get my butt off the couch so that I could get my work done more efficiently in the limited hours I have to myself.
Since guests only visit once in a while, I realized there was no reason I couldn't claim the desk in the guest room as my own the rest of the time. I partnered with my friends at The Container Store to create a super stylish and functional command center for my business, complete with ample space for all my files, notebooks, office supplies, and even a dry erase calendar. Best of all, it looks stylish enough that when guests visit, they won't feel like they are staying in an office!
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This little desk only has one small, shallow drawer, so I needed to add more storage on the desktop while still leaving enough room for my laptop and work. I found a great stacking system that allowed me to get a drawer, letter trays, and a desk organizer all in less than one square foot of space. And if I need more space in the future, I can easily add more drawers or letter trays to this stack.
Currently, I'm using the drawer for all of my business tax receipts, but, in the future, I may get the drawer dividers that are made for this drawer if I decide to use it for other supplies. The letter trays I used for files, planners, and notebooks.
The desk organizer, which sits securely on top of the letter trays, holds my most frequently used office supplies, including my favorite pens, highlighter, scissors, thank you notes, and washi tape, which I use for sealing envelopes and creating tabs on notebook pages.
I have to pause for a moment to gush about how much I love these mini three-ring binders that I use for my blog business and client projects! I use the lined paper inserts for notes and the graph paper inserts to sketch out organizing and design plans. The size is perfect for tossing in my purse when I'm headed to a meeting or a conference, and there are tons of other options to customize these binders with dividers, calendar pages, index tabs, address book pages, pockets, to do lists, and more!
I used damage-free picture hanging strips to hang a dry erase calendar on the wall above the desk. I primarily use an online calendar system to keep track of all the things, but I like having this visual calendar hanging above my desk where I can see a quick overview of my editorial calendar and client meetings at a glance. The calendar is also magnetic, so I can hang up notes or business cards as reminders of things that need follow-up.
I still want to create my dream craft room and home office in the spare bedroom in our basement, but that's not in the budget right now. In the meantime, this mini-desk is such an improvement for me compared to when all my business papers were mixed in with our family paperwork in the kitchen, and when I was doing all my work on the couch!
I've often heard that you should avoid creating a home office in your bedroom because it doesn't allow you to separate your work from your rest and relaxation, but I also know that not everyone has the luxury of extra space and a dedicated home office. Whether you need to create a functional work space in your bedroom or in a guest room, like I did, I hope that these home office ideas for small spaces are helpful!
ORGANIZE YOUR OWN SMALL SPACE HOME OFFICE
Below are links to all the products I used to organize my files, notebooks, and office supplies in a small space. I love that these components are stackable, so you can add more drawers or more letter trays to fit your specific needs. The drawers and letter trays also come in both landscape and portrait configurations, so you can change the orientation to best fit your desktop space.
HOME OFFICE DESKS FOR SMALL SPACES
Whether your are looking for a desk that doubles as a nightstand to create a bedside office, or you just need an office desk for a small space in another corner of your home, here are some great options to consider:
