One of the many great things about being a Realtor is that a majority of the time I get to work from home. When I started, I took the time to convert one of the bedrooms in my house into a home office. I set it up with a desk that has a large work space, 2 shelving units for storage, a Pottery Barn wall calendar organization system, and even a small couch because let’s face it, I’m not going to sit in a computer chair all day! I had created the perfect work from home environment and was loving life! Recently though, I found out my husband Joe accepted a work from home position. So my perfect home office now looks like this.

With no more room left for me in my office, I had to consider other options in my house because working from the couch and the dining table just wasn’t cutting it. The trickiest part was figuring out where. I live in a small (1,488 square foot) 3 bedroom house. I have no den or loft area, and I didn’t want to convert yet another bedroom into an office as I wasn’t willing to give up my guest bedroom (you never know when you’ll need one!). So I looked at every little nook, cranny, and corner to find my new spot. I settled on a small niche in my dining area/kitchen. Before I converted it into my new “office” it was set up as a buffet/wine storage area and looked like this (I know it looks small and like there’s no way I can make it into an office but I did and I love it!)

My first step was finding a simple desk that wouldn’t look out of place in a dining room, would fit in my niche, and would give me enough work space and storage. I looked online at many stores like Ikea, Overstock.com, Living Spaces, and All Modern. I ended up settling on the simple, inexpensive writing desk that matched my décor from Target seen below.

Once I put the desk together, my next task was to create a way to organize all the materials I use for work. I looked at some organizers that set on top of the desk, but ultimately went with an organizer that went in the large desk drawer as I wanted the area to have a clean look for when it’s not being used as my office (I got mine super cheap at Walmart and they were the perfect size!). I was able to fit everything I needed daily inside the large drawer in a neat and organized manner so that I can get to the things I need quickly.

Next I needed to figure out how to have my files in a convenient place downstairs, without having a big ugly file cabinet that took away from my décor in my dining and living areas. I went to pinterest for help on this one. I ended up buying an inexpensive ottoman/seat from Ross that my files fit into perfectly. So now I have a cute seat by my front door that doubles as a secret file cabinet!

My last task was to add a little something to make the area come to life. I wanted to go with the whole less is more theory, as I still needed a lot of desk space open to work at. I decided to leave up my round mirror I already had (it’s from Ikea). I suggest adding a mirror to any small niche office space if you’re not near a window. Mine is perfect as it reflects my front yard and natural light to make it seem like I’m not sitting in a dark corner. I also added a small light (you never know when you’ll be working as a Realtor!), a cute milk glass vase, and two silver candle holders.

My new home office was done in 2 days with spending under $150! I love my new workspace and am amazed at how such a small space has been transformed into an efficient work from home office right in the middle of my dining room! And it doesn’t take away from the look of my interior design in the slightest, if anything I think the area actually looks better then it did before!