Turn a small space into a home office

Designer Peter Fallico's dining room does triple duty as an office, entertaining area and library

By Heather Camlot

When Peter Fallico, host of HGTV's Home To Go and co-host of This Small Space, needed a place for his home office, he chose a corner of his bedroom. Occupying the ground floor of a sub-divided triplex, he didn't have many options. But the set-up wasn't working because his needs exceeded the available space. "I'd get out of bed and move to the office," he explains. "I was never leaving the bedroom."

The home office phenomenon is growing in this country. BizSmart, a joint venture of CIBC and STAPLES Business Depot, reported that the small office/home office population increased by 33 per cent over the past decade. With the possibility of moving into a larger home not always an option, people are struggling to find space for office equipment and all those jumbled files. It may be difficult, but it's not impossible.

Evaluate your space

Assess how often you're at the home office," Fallico advises. If you will only be using the computer on weekends or a few days a week, transforming an underused closet into a computer station may be enough. Make sure the closet door is at least 30 inches wide, giving you a reasonable amount of room to work at the desk. You may also want to visit a couple of closet companies, which have responded to the trend by developing practical solutions for such makeovers.

If you will be at the computer every day, you'll want a more comfortable and more accessible space, such as the living or dining room, but you'll also want to conceal the equipment when not in use. "Try to create a nice sightline — don't have the home office as the first thing you see when you walk into the house," says Fallico.

Conceal your home office equipment

Section off an area with two bookshelves butted together. The backs of the bookcases, which you can paint or cover with fabric, act as a backdrop for the living room while the shelves are open to the office. For something a little more stylish, try an accordion screen or hinged Masonite doors to visually block off large monitors and peripherals. You can also hide your computer in an armoire — retrofit one you already own or buy a new one designed for home-office use.

If you haven't purchased a computer yet, you're in luck. "Computers are colour-coordinated now," says Fallico. "Many companies are trying to make them look better." So, along with the amount of RAM and types of software, consider your décor. And, says Fallico, "slim it down." If you can afford a laptop, a compact printer and a wireless mouse, go for it.

Consider attractive storage options

When buying furniture, select pieces with storage options; a trunk can be used as a coffee table and can neatly house paperwork, while the lower level of a two-tiered table can be fitted with wicker baskets to hold CD-ROMs. And don't forget to think vertically. Add shelves wherever possible and fill them with similar, stylish storage containers.

This fall, Fallico renovated his 10-by-12 foot dining room for triple duty — formal entertaining, home office and library. "It's a much more comfortable space," he says. "And I really tried to disguise the fact that there's a home office in there." He employed retrofitted kitchen and entertainment cabinetry, some with glass doors to display his books and others with pocket doors to hide the computer. "It's worked out very well," admits Fallico. "It's perfect."