How to find extra space for a home office

Looking to create a space for working in your home? Here’s where to look in your home for extra room for a dedicated office.

There’s a growing shift towards working from home, in fact the Office of National Statistics estimated that 1.5 million of us did so in 2018.

This also means that more people are looking to create a dedicated office space in their homes. But whether you’re looking for somewhere peaceful to get business done, or just a spot to dedicate to your hobby, finding space in your home can be difficult.

Here’s how you may be able to find new space for a home office in (or just outside) your property.

Re-configure your home’s internal layout

A major renovation offers the perfect opportunity to rework your home’s layout and create a new space for an office. Ensure that dedicate work space is in the brief to your architect, as it’ll be easier to set this space aside from the outset than to find the space retro-actively.

Consider a mezzanine

A mezzanine level could be a great way to include a functional office space without cannibalising the existing floor space of your home, especially as it’s not a room that necessarily will require complete privacy during working hours.

Grand Designs House of the Year for 2019, House Lessans, has a small study space located above the kitchen pantry, for example.

Re-purpose existing space

If you can’t give over an entire room to your home office, there are clever ways to make use of small spaces for a dedicated work zone. Under the stairs space could be utilised effectively for an office, as can an unused alcove as shown here. However, you’ll have to consider how the office will impact on the room and whether the room offers a condusive working zone for you.

Create a concealed office space

One way around the aesthetic issues that come with incorporating a work zone into a wider space is to create a space that can be hidden away when not in use. Create a work-from-home office in your kitchen space which you can conceal behind cabinetry doors outside of working hours.

Build a garden structure

You may be debating between extending your home or building an out-building to house an office space. While connecting power, water and drainage can trickier to install in an outbuilding, this project is sure to cause less upheaval to your home, and you can prioritise which amenities you want your garden office to have to make the project easier and more budget friendly.