A cozy workplace in the apartment: we work with pleasure!

Working from home is the dream of most modern people. Even if we are allowed to work from home at least one day a week, we cannot afford to neglect this opportunity. What if you have already become a happy freelancer or managed to distribute your working time between office and home?

Daily hassles and constant distractions can prevent us from putting plans into action. Even if you're ready for a productive day, stocked up on tea and your favorite snacks, you're unlikely to get anywhere without a suitable place to work. Not everyone can afford to set up a full-fledged office or workshop at home. It's hard to find a private room where no one can disturb you. But setting up your own personal corner in one of the rooms in the apartment, even a very small one, is quite possible. We offer you practical ideas and real photos of a workplace set up right at home.

Workspace for two

Workplace in a separate room

Some apartments still have a separate room in which you can set up an entire home office. Even if it is small, the walls and door will still protect you from everyday noise and help you concentrate on your work. A personal account is not just a desk with a computer. A separate room is often needed for those who do handicrafts.

Good idea: Set up your room with everything you need for work, such as water and a printer. If this is a workshop, then move all the necessary tools there. If this is a home office, then take care of all the necessary equipment. This way, you won't be distracted from your work process by having to fetch something from the kitchen or pantry.

Workplace in a narrow room: nothing superfluous!

Spacious office in a separate room

Home office for two in a classic style
An office in a separate room will create a feeling of a good working atmosphere, even if there is no one at home except you. Separate areas for work and rest will help you maintain a balance between work and family. What if you don’t have the opportunity to set aside a special place for your favorite activity? Use the idea of building an office in other rooms, for example, in the bedroom!

Which closet doors are better?

Cabinet doors should ideally open 180 degrees or slide along the side walls so as not to interfere with the work process. Here are some of the best options:

Folding doors - they are especially compact and fold easily and conveniently.
Pocket doors are revolving sliding doors that, when opened, completely disappear into the side pockets of the wardrobe and thus provide maximum freedom of movement.
Sliding doors - These are ideal for elegant built-in solutions, but have one drawback. Since the track is attached to the top of the ceiling, the space to the side of the wall must be left free.

Workplace in the bedroom

An unexpected solution, but quite acceptable if you know how to distinguish between work and rest time. Working while lying in bed is certainly tempting, but this does not always lead to productive time spent. If you work at home regularly, then most likely you will need a good desk with a wide top and enough space for a laptop, monitor (or even two), document storage or craft materials. A workspace in the bedroom will be comfortable if you equip it with your favorite comfortable things and take care of a good chair or armchair. Working while sitting on the couch at a low coffee table is not the best idea for those who want to actually earn money and not just work from home.

To designate functional areas, try positioning the monitor so that its back is towards the bed. This will help smooth out the light from the screen, which is important if someone else lives in the room. How and where can you place a workplace in the bedroom? If possible, it is better to place the table near a window or so that the light source is to your left. Another way out is to separate the bed from the work area with a bookcase. This will help create a comfortable layout and make the office atmosphere more private.

Workplace in the bedroom by the window

Full-fledged workplace in a spacious bedroom Cozy work area

Common mistakes

Not everyone can afford to invite a specialist to properly arrange furniture in a one-room apartment. Not everyone is given a sense of proportion and style. Not everyone has enough knowledge, patience and time to create a competent interior. That is why the result of planning turns into disappointment. To prevent this from happening, let’s look at the most common mistakes and try to avoid them when furnishing a one-room apartment:

An illogical project - even in the smallest one-room apartment there should be room for a hallway, a guest area and personal space. But why combine the kitchen and the room if one person lives in the apartment? And if there are several inhabitants, it is simply necessary to zone the room;
Excessive zoning is a standard option for one person or a couple - two zones in a room. A larger number of partitions without an appropriate number of residents will make living uncomfortable;
Refusal to have a proper place to sleep.
Immobile interior - when there are not enough meters in a one-room apartment, it is impossible to place stationary furniture everywhere. Think constructively;
Transformers are not in place - if everything is transformed and assembled, then this space is needed for something. If you don’t need it for anything, then you can do without transformers and install, for example, a normal bed;
An ill-conceived storage system for things - why do we need drawers and chests of drawers if there is a built-in set, a podium or a wall niche?;
Unsuccessful eclecticism, or what style the room is in - you cannot overload one room with a combination of different styles, more than three colors, a variety of textures and light sources. The space must be homogeneous.
Accumulation of unnecessary things and objects - get rid of unnecessary things in a timely manner so as not to turn your home into a storage room and yourself into a Box.

It may be one-room and small, but it is your apartment. What it will be depends on you!

Workplace in the living room

Setting up a workspace in the living room is perhaps the best solution for small apartments. There is always a corner here that will not suffer from additional load in the form of a table, chair and small cabinets or shelves. Where is the best place to place your mini-office? Choose a non-traversable place, in the back of the room, away from the doors. This way, family members passing by will create minimal disruption for you.

An interesting idea: place a table at the side or back of the sofa if it is in the middle of the room. This is a great opportunity to divide space with minimal loss of square meters. Many living rooms today are equipped with wardrobes. Such a simple piece of furniture can also become a great workspace in the living room. You can free one of the sections by placing a small console table there and installing the necessary power supplies for the equipment. Add a small, preferably folding, chair and enjoy a mini-office where nothing distracts you from your work!

A well-organized workspace in the living room A work area that fits perfectly into the style of the living room

Compact workplace located in the dining area

Don't neglect ergonomics

To make working in your home office comfortable, you should pay attention to ergonomics. The correct desk height when sitting depends on your height and ranges from 65 to 80 cm. The top edge of the monitor should be at eye level at a distance of 40 to 75 cm.

To maintain the recommended minimum distance from the screen, you should pay attention to the depth of the table and cabinet. For laptops, a depth of 60–70 cm is usually sufficient. If you plan to work on a flat display, it is best to use a sliding keyboard panel. There should also be enough space under the table for your feet - at least 70cm deep.

A suitable chair is important for proper posture at the computer. If there is enough space under the table in the closet, you can slide a small stool under it and hide it behind the doors. But that wouldn't be ideal for an 8-hour workday. Alternatively, you can space a few centimeters between the edge of the table and the cabinet door to allow a thin chair back to fit behind it.

Here's a great example of how to hide an office even in a small closet. Revolving sliding doors simply slide out of the way and don't interfere with your work. The desk, chair, keyboard and screen fit together perfectly. There's even a small printer on the shelf below. By the way, in this article we will show you more ideas on how to hide a small workstation and a large printer in the living room.

Does the shape of the chair seem strange to you? But this office chair supports active sitting and prevents back pain by promoting a healthy sitting posture. Active sitting means regularly changing your sitting position. This promotes metabolism and relaxes muscles. By the way, seat balls are a classic of dynamic sitting. If your back hurts after sitting for a long time, try a different seat.

We use unusual places to arrange the workplace

Do you think that you can organize an office just against the wall or in a spacious room? Nothing like this! Below are unusual places for cozy corners where no one will disturb you to concentrate.

Pantry. These small spaces, too small for a full closet but too large for a regular closet, are perfect for a home office. All you need are doors or a curtain to hide your privacy from prying eyes. You can freely arrange such a workplace in your bedroom, living room or kitchen, and you will know for sure that no one will interfere with your work when passing by.

An office that can easily be hidden behind a curtain

Niche in the wall. You are very lucky if your, maybe even a small apartment, is equipped with a niche. It doesn’t matter if it is too narrow: if placed compactly, a separate table and a small chair will fit there. And storage space can be organized on the shelves above your head.

Workplace in a niche

Hallway. In ordinary apartments, sometimes there are huge hallways in which it is difficult to rationally use the space. There is a wardrobe against one wall, but the rest are empty, and it doesn’t look very cozy. If there is a blind corner in the hallway, fill it wisely: set up a workstation and enjoy a separate office!
Place under the stairs. Although this option is rare in apartments, this idea still has the right to life. Usually a pantry is installed in such places, but why not allocate such a secluded area for more useful needs?

A workplace under the stairs is a space saver!

Balcony or loggia. These places in the house are now increasingly being converted into living space. If you have already insulated a balcony or loggia and know that it will be comfortable to spend a lot of time there, why not make a separate work area there, similar to a whole personal room, small, but your own? In the following photos you will see a few more ideas for an unusual arrangement of a home office.

Workplace behind a glass partition

Office right in the closet

Cabinet in the dressing room

Posting rules

Like any important task, choosing and arranging furniture does not tolerate fuss. You can’t follow your desires and buy “that wonderful bed” or “amazing closet” just because you like them. Furniture is an important part of the interior; you need to choose it based on the technical capabilities of the room. Otherwise, all this beauty will turn into an absurd heap. But do you need a comfortable place to live, not a warehouse? Therefore, before furnishing a one-room apartment with furniture, try to evaluate the capabilities of the room and how to redevelop it if necessary:

Do not rush to bring in household items and decor if the room is empty, or take them out if you are thinking about reorganizing the space;
Take measurements of the room, hallway, kitchen, make an apartment plan on paper or using a graphic computer program in which interior designers work;
Create several furniture options by hand in a prepared plan or on the computer;
Analyze photographs of the furnishings of an apartment similar to yours. This will help you navigate the organization of space and choose suitable interior solutions;
Design tips on space zoning will be useful. In this case, in the middle of each zone, the main pieces of furniture are placed in a one-room apartment, and additional pieces are placed around them;
Opt for compact furniture that does not clutter up the space;
If you need a lot of furniture, then it is better to place it closer to each other so that it is convenient to move around the apartment;
Reflect all your preferences and ways of moving around your housing in the plan.

If you are not the only occupant of the apartment, coordinate with other family members several options for plans and jointly approve the most successful one.

Hall

A one-room apartment is a living room, a bedroom and an office at once, so we only bring in furniture that is necessary and not bulky, which has maximum functionality. If you have an apartment built during the reign of Khrushchev, the first step towards the furnishings of the hall will be to refuse to place furniture along the walls. This likens a narrow rectangular room to a corridor or a carriage, which cannot be called a cozy nest.

Modern design solutions are based on the square shape, since it is most convenient when creating an interior. What kind of furniture is needed and how should it be arranged in a one-room Khrushchev house?

Closet

We give preference to the coupe (one of the doors or all can be mirrored):

Firstly, it is roomy;
Secondly, it can serve to highlight two zones if it is placed with the end part facing the wall. In this case, it ceases to be visually perceived as a traditional cabinet standing along the wall;
Thirdly, it is tall; the upper shelves will replace the mezzanine.

Chest of drawers, bedside tables

We choose tall and narrow ones to make the space as light as possible.

Bed

For proper rest you need a comfortable sleeping place. But you won’t be able to afford a royal bed. The options for one-room apartments are as follows:

A folding sofa, an important detail of which is the presence of storage drawers;
You can do without this item if you make a bedroom on the windowsill. It will be necessary to remake the window sill into a wide, long one, but this option will save space;
Another option is to create a bed by the window on the podium, inside of which there are many compartments for storing things;
A practical solution - a bed on the upper tier, a wardrobe, a work area, a computer desk, a chest of drawers, shelves, a pull-out bed on the lower tier - in one. This mega-functional invention is real! It is ideal for small spaces, even when a baby appears and the question arises of how to arrange furniture in a one-room apartment with a child and create a children's area.

Tables and shelves

Books, documents, needles, threads, all kinds of household items should always be in order, at hand, in a certain place, so that they can be conveniently obtained without spending a lot of time searching (you can use dividers, label drawers, boxes if they are opaque ). It is optimal to use:

Open wall shelves of different lengths, where you can put decorative items and place photos;
Open shelving that also serves as a partition;
Closed shelves, interior boxes and baskets;
Built-in sets, which, when opened, serve as a table for work, niches and shelves for storing various items.

When choosing built-in furniture, pay attention to the following details:

Its color should not contrast with the color of the walls, so as not to visually reduce the area of the room;
Try to place such transforming headsets not above the sleeping place, because these are still attributes of the work area.

Armchairs and poufs

We will have to give up massive armchairs, replacing them with mobile folding chairs.

Lighting

In one-room apartments, a sufficient level of lighting plays an important role. It is preferable not to use large floor lamps and other massive light sources. It is best to make spot ceiling lighting, purchase wall sconces, and table lamps in a minimalist style.

Kitchen

Refrigerator, stove, sink, cutting table, cabinets for dishes, food, spices, dryer, microwave, food processor - this is not a complete list of kitchen attributes. All of them should fit on a minimum of 6-8 square meters, without complicating your movement around the room and ease of use: when opening the oven, you should not think about how not to hit the refrigerator.

Kitchen furniture should be ergonomic and functional. The dimensions of the kitchen set are minimal. It is better to make an individual project that allows you to rationally use the corner space of the kitchen.

Combining a kitchen and a room is one of the common solutions to the problem of lack of space if a family of three lives in an apartment. At the same time, the broken wall between the two rooms is partially restored by installing kitchen floor cabinets, which are a continuation of the unit, with a countertop that can easily serve as both a place for eating and a bar counter. A small kitchen is often associated with a lack of space for a dining table where the whole family can gather. Therefore, the dining area becomes necessary, and the studio apartment becomes popular.

Hallway and corridor

The hallway in the apartment is a business card. The overall perception of the interior depends on its design. The layout of hallways in different apartments is different, so ideas that work for decorating a square hallway will be completely inappropriate in a narrow and long one. Assess the size of the hallway, lighting, ceiling height.

If the hallway is small (represents a corridor), proceed in two ways:

It is designed according to accepted design rules;
They combine the hallway with an adjacent room - a kitchen or living room.

In the first case (especially if we are talking about Khrushchev), you will have to abandon the large cabinet and use instead:

A sliding wardrobe with mirrored doors will not only increase the visual space, but will also solve the problem with the mirror in the hallway. In such a closet there is only enough space for seasonal outerwear (middle tier), shoes (lower tier), accessories (upper tier), everything irrelevant is put away for storage in the room. If possible, it is worth placing an ottoman for ease of putting on/taking off shoes, and place a shelf or hook for a shoehorn nearby;
Modular furniture is an excellent solution for any, especially small hallways. No bulky cabinets, only interesting design proposals. This kit is assembled to order and will certainly meet all your requirements.

In the second case, the wall between the hallway and the room or kitchen is eliminated and replaced with an arch or other architectural solution. The hallway becomes part of another space and must stylistically match it.

Workplace by the window

This is an ideal option for enjoying beautiful sunrises and sunsets, as well as making the most of natural light. Looking out the window, you can be inspired and rest your eyes, alternately looking at the monitor and into the distance.

In addition, to organize a workplace by the window, it is not necessary to place a separate table: just expand the window sill, and a full-fledged area for activity with a comfortable tabletop is ready!

Artist's desk

Comfortable workplace on the windowsill

Spacious corner workspace

Follow the principle: first the necessary, then the beautiful

Arrange things according to the principle - first the necessary, then the beautiful.

Putting a photo frame or a cactus in a stylish pot on your desk is nice, but it doesn't make sense if your workspace isn't comfortable. The first place to start is with yourself and your routine. If you are a journalist and always write out plans for future materials on sticky notes that you place around, you need a spacious work desk with a pen and sticky notes at hand, and it’s better to put scissors, tape and paper clips in a distant drawer. Or if at work you have to read a lot of documents, then the first thing you need to take care of is an additional lamp. Maybe there just isn’t enough space for it because of the beautiful succulent.

Children's workplace for a girl on the right by the window

Planning a competent organization of your desktop

The key to productive work and purity of thoughts is a comfortable place, devoid of distracting things. Therefore, pay close attention to the organization of your desktop. What takes up the most space? Are there any items that are unlikely to be useful during work? Make sure there is enough storage space: papers and folders should not end up on the table by themselves. Give them space on the shelves or buy a computer desk with ready-made drawers and shelves.

Tip: To prevent your printer and large equipment from taking up valuable desk space, move them to a shelf above the desk. Unusual, but why not?

Organization of a compact workplace Storage areas are placed on the upper shelves

Thanks to the upper shelves, the work table is unloaded

Don't sacrifice form for functionality

Remember: furniture serves you and your needs, not you. Invest in a comfortable chair, a beautiful table, and stylish wall shelves that will fit into the interior. Don’t turn the corner into a soulless “cubicle” - no matter what, you’ll want to run away from your home office.

“Light-colored furniture is suitable for a small apartment; dark furniture looks more bulky. A glass table looks weightless and visually expands the area. But weigh the pros and cons: the glass tabletop is unusually cold and requires careful handling and more careful maintenance.”

Margarita Simonenko , designer-architect of the service of ready-made construction solutions "TNOMER"

“I spend most of the day at my desk: I work, rest, eat, and turn on movies at night. Initially, the corner was designed for my husband: he needed a place for both a computer and for working with papers. Therefore, the keyboard moves back, freeing up space. There were other requirements for the place: that it occupy a minimum area, be protected from the dog (that’s why the table has a long back wall so that the dog doesn’t get under it and pull out the wires); so that I could sit next to my husband. It’s more convenient for us to communicate, watch memes and TV series: while one is working, the other is resting. Everyone is busy with their own business, but at the same time together, and not in different corners.

The table was not designed for a child at all. Now we think that the surface could be made longer. If we had one more workplace, my daughter could easily sculpt or draw between us. During full gatherings, we remove the keyboard under the monitor and sit the child on our laps. Previously, dishes used to accumulate in the middle of the table - now children's pencils and toys. And yes, a child’s rock painting instantly appears in an untidy, open notebook.

I like the monitor stand on my desk - I hide little things under it: some cosmetics, workbooks and pens. Previously, we stored office supplies in a bedside table with a drawer, but now it is sealed with tape: protection from children’s hands.”

Anna Maslennikova , freelance developer on maternity leave

How can you decorate your workplace?

Here you can focus on your type of activity. How do you spend most of your day? What inspires you? Those who like to make things with their own hands will find useful mini-boxes, drawers and special storage systems that will help keep scraps, beads, threads, accessories and other tools in order.

A universal option for decorating your workspace is a vision board that can be filled with photographs, magazine clippings, personal drawings and inscriptions that will motivate you to be productive.

Handicrafts workplace

Workplace in pastel colors

Thematic design of the workplace

Hide the table

“The table is the central part of the work area and requires the most space. The problem is solved if you hide it in a closet or chest of drawers. A retractable or folding tabletop is even more compact and is also easy to clean. The simplest solution is a secretary or bureau.

You can also use a window sill as a work desk by expanding it slightly. Or make a hanging tabletop that visually lightens the space.”

Margarita Simonenko , designer-architect of the service of ready-made construction solutions "TNOMER"

Photo of the workplace

We hope that the following photos of your workspace will inspire you to create your own comfortable home office, which will help you create something new day after day!

workplace in the apartment - photo

What to consider when choosing an interior

In the process of creating an interior, it is important to take into account the needs and lifestyle of each of the residents. So, if one of the household members often takes work home, then he needs to allocate his own workplace. To do this, you can place a compact work desk near the bed or expand the window sill for similar purposes.

There are plenty of options here. If the inhabitants of the apartment are accustomed to spending their evenings watching movies, then in the living room you need to provide a soft sofa and a TV, but if someone in the household is interested in reading or handicrafts, then you need to build a well-lit space for them, install several table lamps or floor lamps.

The interior should, first of all, be comfortable for the residents themselves, and not just beautiful.

Think about the location of lamps and chandeliers in advance; you may have to do separate wiring for them. When planning the design of a one-room apartment, try to get rid of unnecessary furniture and things as much as possible. Think about the purposes for which you will use each item. If there is no purpose as such, then don’t buy it at all.

Do I need a second monitor?

Here, too, it all depends on what exactly you are doing. Most often, having two monitors is convenient for those who work a lot with data - for example, bringing together data from several sources.

For example, an accountant might use two monitors like this:

on one, open the source database in the accounting system, on the second - analytical and verification tables in Excel;
primary on one monitor, accounting system, for example an OS card with all tabs, on the second;
accounting program - on one, mail, news, internal CRM, chat for communicating with the client - on the second.

Even if your manager now refuses to buy you a second monitor, insist and convince: water wears away stones.

Desktop computer or laptop

Here everything again depends on your work scenarios. If you only work in the office, nothing prevents you from using a desktop computer with a system unit. If you sometimes take work home or combine office and remote work, use a laptop.

Many struggle with a desktop computer, but do not switch to a laptop due to their commitment to large screens. There is a way out of this situation - connect a laptop to a monitor in the office. This will also allow you to maintain a comfortable head position - look straight without bending over.

If it is not possible to order a monitor, you can use the laptop itself as a monitor - place it higher on a stand. And print from an additional keyboard.

The main thing is to ask yourself if you are comfortable: do you want to move the screen higher or lower, right or left, does your neck get tired, do your hands get numb. These problems can cost us our health, but they can often be solved quickly and almost free of charge.