Maybe you live in a small home with your family, or perhaps you’re renting a one-bedroom apartment. If you work from home, you might be wondering how you can fit a functional home office into a tiny area. With a little creativity, you can definitely pull it off. Here’s how to measure for furniture that will fit your space, banish clutter from your home office, install vertical storage options, and even seek out a bigger rental property if necessary.

1. Choose the Right Furniture

First, think about unused space in your home that might be suitable for a work station. Could you clean and weatherproof your garage, finish your basement , or even set up a desk in your attic? If those spaces aren’t available, any area that is relatively quiet and not used for another purpose might do. And the right furniture helps make your small man cave feel bigger.

Lots of office furniture is designed for large spaces, so you’ll need to shop carefully as you outfit your small office. To measure space accurately for furniture, Darby Road Home recommends starting by measuring the entryways you’ll need to bring the boxes through and then measuring the length, width, and height of your available space.

2. Keep Your Space Organized

In a small space, it’s easier for clutter to build up. And when your square footage is limited, clutter can feel truly stifling for your productivity. That’s why it’s so important to spend a couple of minutes tidying up at the end of each workday if you have a smaller home office. You’ll be able to wake up to an organized workspace and start every day on the right foot! 

Try to remove any distracting items from your desk, and ensure that the contents of your drawers are organized, too. Resist the urge to turn one drawer into a “junk drawer.” You need to use your available space effectively!

3. Try Vertical Storage Options

Vertical storage is the secret to effectively storing your supplies in a tiny space. You can try using peg boards or wall hooks, or installing floating shelves, cabinets, or bookshelves. This will help you keep items off the floor. Plus, you’ll access them more easily because you can see them.

4. Try New Lighting and Decor Ideas

Even with a small office, you don’t want to skip out on lighting and decor. Purchase a desk lamp, or consider getting a floor lamp to brighten your dimly lit man cave. 

If you’re a homeowner, consider painting the space in a color that makes you feel productive and inspired. The right aesthetic can give you an extra motivational boost during the workday. If you’re a renter, put up photos and art that you love.

5. Look for a Larger Rental Space

Let’s say you carefully measured your space before purchasing any furniture, made it a point to clean up your office on a daily basis, and added minimal decor but you still don’t have enough space. You can’t store your essential business equipment and supplies. And your office feels too cramped for you to work productively. It might be time to consider moving to a larger rental space. 

As you look up rentals in your neighborhood, seek out homes and apartments that have an extra bedroom which you can turn into a home office. When you’re using a real estate search platform, you can filter your preferred listings by your budget, home type, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you want, and other amenities you’re looking for.

If you work remotely and you don’t have a large house, you might feel like you’ll simply have to forego the idea of having a home office. But moving somewhere larger is just one option. By selecting furniture that suits your available space, taking advantage of vertical storage space, and prioritizing cleanliness, you can make a small home office work for you.

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Guest author Art Holaus created BizHelpPro to be the place where helpful resources meet execution. With BizHelpPro, he hopes to share his knowledge and recommend great resources.