The home office plays different roles depending on the activities of each individual. For some, it is the place where they carry out their professional activity, while for others, the office is the place where they store documents or check their email.
The home office can be a separate room within the dwelling or, depending on the size of the space, it can be set up in any other room.
We discussed with the architect Ioana Melencu who offered us some ideas on how we can integrate the office into our small apartments in the urban space.
When we talk about a work area integrated into the space of an apartment, already reduced and used to the maximum, we are referring in particular to a space where we can place a desktop or laptop, take some notes, organize our bills.
Therefore, from the start, we are not looking to do very much, but we still need that space that invites us to work, to concentrate without taking over the entire room. What needs to be considered first is the doubling of the function of any piece of furniture placed in a small apartment.
If we make a work corner, a useful idea is for the chosen top to be supported by storage units. Another option is folding tops that can be hidden in a storage unit and used only when needed or extendable tables.
I do not recommend office chairs, but rather arranging the work corner so that we integrate existing chairs or a folding chair, whose comfort we can increase with a cover (this can represent a nice DIY project). Another method of integrating the office is to unify the work area with a bookcase, considering that we want a bookcase in the house, regardless of how small it is.
The right room for integrating an office
The kitchen is considered the heart of a home and if we like to cook and experiment with new recipes, then we may find a place in the kitchen where reading materials intertwine with cookbooks.
In no case do I recommend placing a desk in the bedroom. Ideally, I believe that the bedroom should be free of electronic distractions, an oasis dedicated exclusively to rest and the place where we take shelter from all screens.
What type of desk to choose in terms of structure, size and material
On the walls next to the desk, we can place mirrors, prints, metal plates with magnets or cork boards where we can attach inspirational materials or reminders. Long tops, the ones we find prefabricated for bars, placed in a console under the window are also an optimal solution.
These do not take up space and are not visually disturbing, as they double the existing line of the windowsill (90 cm represents a good height for a desk). The space under these tops can remain free; if heating units are located underneath them, then we can enjoy thermal comfort in winter while we work.
