Reimagining Your Space for Work and School
Would reimagining your space for work and school help you feel less crammed and cluttered at home?
It’s something most of us are being forced to do. We are all carving out spots for work and virtual school, but maybe everyone working at the dining room table at once just doesn’t seem to cut it.
You may be tempted to consider remodeling or an addition, but who has the time and money for that? Plus, you may not get the best return on your investment when it’s time to sell your home, so be cautious before taking that leap. Perhaps reimagining your space is an idea worth exploring?
Since reimagining your space is one of the things we do best, here are a few ideas to get you started.
First – ask yourself, what is not working?
Is there lack of privacy?
Do people struggle to concentrate because it is too noisy?
Maybe there’s not enough space to spread out?
Perhaps storage is lacking or non-existent?
Once you know your needs, select your spaces. Think outside the box!
Do you have a guest room? Well, there is a pandemic going on so let us come to terms with the fact we will not have any guests in our home for quite a while. This is prime real estate in your home – use it! And if you do have guests, there is always a hotel room.
How about your dining room? Can you add French doors to close it off to the rest of the home for some privacy and noise reduction?
For the kids, consider a sofa table with barstools behind the sofa if room allows? Do they use their closet for clothing because all their clothing is in drawers? If not, can they? Adding a simple shelf in the closet (that can be removed later) may be a simple solution for the students in your home.
Bonus rooms – If you are fortunate to have one, perhaps you can reconfigure that space to add a work desk or school zone?
And my personal favorite – The Living Room. In staging we have been turning many of the living rooms into home offices suggesting an alternate function for the space. Be honest with yourself – you do not really sit in there do you?
For those of you with fully open floorplans, take a fresh look at furniture positions. Could a new arrangement create areas more conducive to focused or project work?
Consider your furniture.
In this case, function should be your first priority, then traffic flow, and finally decorative elements to make the area beautiful.
You do not have to keep all your furniture in the same room that it is now. Perhaps for the short term the Family Room sitting chair will fit in the Primary Bedroom, the bonus room sofa can be added to the family room. Look around your home and see if some of your furniture functions in another place of your home more effectively or at the very least function temporarily with the hopes that eventually it will be safe to go back to work and school.
When choosing what furniture to use in your space, make sure there is room for the office or school chair to move about freely in the space. There should be at least 36 inches of clearance behind the desk for someone to sit.
Storage!
If the students in your life must work at the kitchen table, consider clearing the nearest kitchen cabinet for them to store all their school supplies. Store your party supplies, holiday dishes, and other less-frequently used items in another location like the attic. We know it is going to be a while until we can start having parties again. This will cut down on clutter and make it easier to transition the kitchen table from schoolwork to family dinner each night.
Add a dresser or console to the reimagined room if space permits. Consoles with doors are great for storing a lot of items out of sight but still close at hand.
Use rolling storage units to neatly organize books, files, printers and other work paraphernalia; then roll them away to another room if you need to reclaim the space for its original use.
Sometimes closets are a hidden multi-purpose gem. Guest rooms, under-stairs closets, generously sized primary bedroom closets are all good candidates for conversion to private, quiet workspaces (with some of the best sound quality for web calls). You might need to rearrange your seasonal storage needs or rent a storage unit, but the gift of a peaceful space to you and your family could be well worth it!
And if you are still feeling stuck, or need a hand reimagining your space for work and school, we invite you to schedule a consultation. We love helping our clients see their home with fresh eyes. As home stagers we are trained to make sense of the flow throughout the home AND make it look beautiful!
To Contact the author
Sherrie Medeiros
Owner First Impression Home Staging – Occupied and Vacant homes.
Certified and Insured
919-444-5002
Sherrie@FirstImpressionHomeStaging.com
