Oh, 2020. You brought us so many unexpected twists and turns. One of which was this (not so new) idea of working for home- which I am now doing from my cloffice!
I have been working from home since 2015. For the most part I love it, but it does come with challenges. It’s hard to stay motivated sometimes when you have so many distractions. That was my biggest issue prior to having kids.
Now with two kiddos, working from home sometimes feels impossible. Pre-pandemic I would leave my oldest with the babysitter and head to Panera or Starbucks to set up shop. I miss that so much- I worked really well without anyone asking me for another snack or to open a toy.
That is pretty impossible for me now- here in New York a lot of coffeehouses don’t allow indoor seating still AND I now had added a baby to the mix. Not as easy to get up and go anymore!
Years ago I did have an office in my house- a luxury I know not everyone has. When we redid our kitchen I opted to take down the wall to that office so I could expand the dining room. I figured I didn’t need it since I could always rely on Panera.
Ha- hindsight is 2020 (pun intended).
I knew I still needed a desk somewhere, so I started thinking about ways to create a WFH space for myself. After lots of googling and Pinteresting I came across the idea of a Cloffice- a closet converted into an office.
We happened to have a deeper closet that was under our steps. It used to be our pantry but now was open to do whatever we wanted with is since I moved the pantry into the now expanded kitchen. I loved the idea of a cozy little nook that didn’t take up space anywhere else in our house- since bedrooms were limited and we don’t have a basement.
My husband helped me create a built in desk and hang a shelf- which was basically the extend of the office build out! I added a hanging file holder as well as some bulletin boards and desk accessories.
If you have a closet space in you home that isn’t being used right now OR that you would be willing to give up, this is a GREAT solution for an in-home office! It doesn’t require a spare bedroom and it is fairly inexpensive to do!
Another tip I have that I think could be really awesome is to add contact paper to the back wall – almost like an accent wall within the office!
It seems as though the space would be small but I honestly don’t feel that way at all! I hav plenty of room to work. I even recently found a cute AND space saving printer for $89 that fits on the shelf!
For some with limited space adding a desk to their bedroom is an easy solution. I think that works great if you don’t have a spare closet – but I love having an area that is just for “work mode” so I am not associating work with winding down and sleeping.
Are you into the idea of creating a “cloffice” for yourself? Let me know!
