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If your WFH routine consists of juggling your laptop and a bowl of cereal as you fire off emails from the comfort of your bed, that’s probably because you’re missing out on a luxury too few of us get the pleasure to enjoy: a proper home office.
Just because we aren’t privy to the square footage that would justify spreading out doesn’t mean our inner workaholic should have to compromise on dreams of having a desk. We’ve found that some of the best home offices pop up in the tiniest places.
Working in pint-size conditions is possible. From cozy kitchen corners to attics made anew, these 14 nooks-turned-offices make a serious case for transforming a blank canvas into a haven of productivity.
With no shortage of statement art to hang in her serene Napa Valley home, you’d expect Minted founder and CEO Mariam Naficy to fill this once-bare wall with a large-scale painting or wall hanging. To our sweet surprise, however, she turned the teeny corner into a small but mighty workspace—perfect for jotting down notes on the fly or taking a call.
Snuggled in between the kitchen and the mudroom, this streamlined work zone is primed for last-minute homework assignments and grocery lists. To keep things extra tidy, Elizabeth Diomede added a floating set of magnetic compartments to keep stray pens and scissors in order.
Leanne Ford’s whitewashed Farmhouse is a lesson for us all, and the teachings trickle down from the top. While one might easily feel cornered by the sloping A-frame structure, the HGTV star gave her attic purpose with a fresh coat of white paint and sentimental objects.
Design-friendly details like the marble herringbone backsplash and acrylic chair make this tiny desk feel personal for a kitchen. The only thing standing between this quaint corner and success is a perfectly organized planner and your best grocery shopping list yet.
Whitney Leigh Morris’s Venice Beach cottage might only span 362 square feet, but it maximizes every inch. While her office/entryway/living room situation might not seem ideal by most standards, Morris pulls it off with a tiered desk with bonus storage baskets beneath.
To visually distinguish the makeshift study that sits smack in the middle of the hallway in this Upper East Side home, Diana Mui used paint as a way to isolate the L-shaped nook from its surroundings. The splash of pink brightens the space while also signaling a transitional moment.
While the nook in this modern California home was originally designed with children in mind, the space is both fitting for work and play. Open shelving and a comfortable desk area allow the space to double as a study when the kiddos are out of town.
The first thing you’ll notice when you step into Sybil Domond and Dan Lessin’s internationally inspired Brooklyn home is the open floor plan. You can see everything in one fell swoop, from the kitchen to the master bedroom. With nowhere to hide, the couple turned their desk-cum-vanity into a decorative statement by peppering it with travel finds and treasured art.
A shotgun house might seem like an unsuitable environment for a proper office, but Liz Solm’s breezy New Orleans home is proof that clever furniture placement pays off. In the living room, she achieved a sense of airiness by outfitting the space with multipurpose furniture and incorporating storied goods, including the small antique secretary desk that sits tucked between the sofa and the wall.
Not unlike paint, wallpaper can help visually define a space from its surroundings. Friendly toucans distinguish this sunny nook from the joining sleeping space at Casa Legado, a quaint boutique hotel in Bogota.
We’d willingly go back to school if it meant getting to study in this red-hot homework nook. Sandwiched between an exposed brick wall and a wardrobe unit, the incorporates a built-in in a bedroom in a way that feels natural and functions seamlessly.
No matter how tiny the corner or how limited the surface area, this itty-bitty desk can attest to the power of making do with less. Books, art, and other goodies can call this tiny corner home when it’s not being used as a functioning workstation.
Simple and to the point, a desk as simple and easy as the one in this Upper West Side apartment works wonders in a room with space to spare—think at the end of a long hallway or galley kitchen.
The L-shaped silhouette of this cool wood desk lends itself to a lonely corner. In keeping with her California-cool sensibility, designer Natalie Myers added baskets, dried flora, and organic ceramics to the scene; elements that add enough character and dimension to the space that it feels like its own room.
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