How to turn a closet into an office

Sometimes we need some privacy to work. Whether its kids or other distractions, a dedicated spot for paying bills, surfing the internet or even doing some full-fledged work is always nice. If you don’t already have an office in your house, you can turn a closet into a high functioning work space. And you can even do it on a budget.

First, you’ll want to choose a closet that has enough room for a desk. You can find a small desk that’s 20" deep, so the closet needs to be at least that. To get the most out of your space, try to buy a desk that’s just a little bit smaller depth-wise than the depth of your closet. After you’ve chosen your closet, you’ll want to take the doors off of the closet. They will get in the way and limit your space. Next you can paint the inside of your closet. Don’t choose too dark of a color or you will feel too enclosed. Next, place your desk inside your "office."

Now you can see what other space you have. To take advantage of the space way above your desk, you can hang a long shelf all the way across from wall to wall. Your closet might even already have a shelf like this. If you have some room to the right or left, hang shelves from ceiling to desk level (or even to the floor if you have room). You can place baskets or boxes to hold your office supplies or a printer. Above your desk and below that top shelf, you can hang a bulletin board or dry-erase board on the wall. You might want to add a lamp for light. If you don’t have an electrical outlet near, you can buy a battery powered light.

The last step is to hang curtains to hide your space when you’re not working. A great way to accomplish this is to hang a curtain rod above the door trim on the inside of your closet. You can use a center curtain bracket in the middle if you need one. Use one or two curtain holdbacks on the sides to hold the curtains back when you are working. When the curtains are closed, it will look neat and you won’t have any hardware showing.