If over the last year you’ve been working from home more, what may have been a temporary situation to begin with may now be part of your regular routine. Whilst working from the sofa with your laptop or from your dining table may be a quick fix, it’s not going to be practical in the long-term. If you are short on room space in your home or apartment, being creative with it can help maximise what you do have. If you don’t have a spare room you can use as a home office, there is another popular solution. Here are our tips on how to create a home office in a kitchen that still leaves room for the cooking.
Whilst it may seem unorthodox to merge office life near to your kitchen appliances, it’s all about making use of the space. If you have a large enough kitchen or an open plan kitchen/lounge space, you’ll be surprised how much room you may have to achieve this hybrid. As we are kitchen design experts at Lambert Welch, we know how important having a functional, yet practical space is, so the approach to how to create a home office in a kitchen is important. You are unlikely to have space to place a large office-style workstation of course, so choosing a workstation that is a practical size to accommodate your laptop or desktop and monitor should be sufficient.
Identify corners of your kitchen where there is space for this, for example, if you have a narrow space by a unit that currently only has a bin occupying it, think about placing this elsewhere and take measurements. If you can find a practical size desk or sturdy floating shelve you can work from that will fit, this will maximise the space. If all the wall space in your kitchen is already accounted for, make use of any countertop space instead and use a comfortable bar stool that you are happy to work from throughout the workday.
If you have a larder cupboard or other shelving on one wall of your kitchen, one solution can be to convert this into a workspace. Both areas of your kitchen can be ideal for a workspace idea, with a larder cupboard having the added benefit of being hidden away after you’ve finished working, keeping work and life separate. Removing storage shelves or drawers at seat and standing level and replacing them with a sturdy workstation can make use of this space well, assuming you have other cupboard or storage space to put your larder items. You may also want to think about converting an existing worktop to create more space. If, for example, you have a countertop that is currently slim and not wide enough to work from, you can choose to upgrade this and create a breakfast bar/work desk hybrid. This way it is practical for two uses within your kitchen.
As well as your computer or laptop, desk, and chair, you’ll want to think about office storage. If you have space under a countertop, you can look to add smart shelves that are hidden to store anything you would need such as pens, notebooks, a keyboard, and keep them stored neatly out of work hours. Anywhere within your kitchen room or open plan design that has minimal use currently can be potentially used for further storage. Whether you look to incorporate more drawer space that keeps stored items hidden or use storage boxes that keep with the theme of the kitchen, there is potential everywhere you look.
Hopefully the above can give you food for thought when it comes to creating a home office in a kitchen. If you are looking to redesign your kitchen, we can help you with recommendations for having all the kitchen essentials plus space for work in a bespoke design.
Get in touch with the team today to find out more, or call us on 020 8444 6777.