To ask for your opinions on how to organise WFH spaces?

Yep - commute to central London with train and tube costs over £30 a day and food costs me more on London days as I can’t quickly do an omelette or whatever, it’s a few £ on a meal deal (yes, I could pack a lunch, but I don’t)

It costs me 42p in electric per day to light my office and run the laptop, screens and gadgets. A few p more if I need my electric blanket or the fan on.

I barely have the heating on, but it's no different to when the house is unoccupied as it's on a timer.

To commute to work, it used to cost me £5/ day in fuel and tolls then another £8.50/day in parking.

Then another £15-20/ day for dog walker or day care.

I took a £12k paycut for this job because the WFH has cut off so much of my costs that I could afford to move to something I love but which doesn't pay nearly so well.

Well in this case the OPs employer doesn't have an office for her to go to and her DHs is too far away for him to commute to.

WFH suits many people and the cost of wifi, heating etc is often more than offset by the saving in time and cost of travel.

I’d admit defeat and go to the office. I don’t get this working from home obsession. I’d rather use my employer’s desk/chair/Wi-Fi/heating.

Great :) I also use mine in the car as I find it very supportive when driving

That and a good down desk (wayfair have lots of options) is what I would suggest

I have one of these: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/475622410621860378/
Folds up when not in use and doesn't take up much space. I'd imagine IKEA don't make them any more, but maybe something similar could work?

I would absolutely not want to sit wearing headphones at random times of the day. I would feel very “boxed in” by that.

Some people get on with them, OP has mentioned she never uses them.

I have the same issue with my husband dropping into the kitchen - he struggles to differentiate between "you've started chatting and I also want a little chat" and "I want to chat and you're here" and "stfu I'm working here".

I have a folding desk though, and like the fact I can move it around the house.

I do think that with your different schedules, he can give up the big office one day a week for the small desk.

I only wfh 2 days a week, my partner full time, but we share an office, its no different to when I'm working in the company office and there is someone sat at the desks all around me. We respect the fact each other is working and do have the living room or kitchen table if we both have a meeting at the same time (that we both need to talk at, I have a lot of meetings where I only need to participate for 10 mins out of the hour!).

We have a similar set up, husband has a garden office as he is WFH full time and there is no office to go to-whole company is remote. I do 2 days a week at home and I float about depending on what suits. But mainly use the dining room where I have a proper 2 monitor set up there (pack it away when not used). When it’s nice like this I have chosen to be in the garden, I like being able to move around. I had a really long briefing to listen to the other day which I did in bed as it was a 3hr passive no cameras/mics job. Today I am in the garden.

I’d make a proper small desk space in sitting room and insist the night before it is tidy. Or you will just have to stop doing it as it sounds like your home is too small. We have a tiny cottage but it has a garden office and a spare bedroom so I have options even though it’s hobbit sized.

Just share the office space and wear decent headphones.
They'll block out any uber sensitive calls (that probably don't mean anything to you anyway, and won't be every minute of every one of the few shared hours you have); plus you can work away without being disturbed unless he deliberately comes over and interrupts you.

That solves every issue in one hit, surely?

Could you have a false top for the desk in your kid's room? So you would keep it on there when you're not working, kids crap lives on top of it, when you want to work pick it up (with crap in situ) and place the whole lot on top of their bed, and replace when you're done?

Appreciate it's not the ideal time to start when they're about to break up for summer however...

When we briefly shared a study in covid (one desk each) I used to just go into the bedroom with a notebook to do calls - however, that was actual phone calls rather than teams/zoom so no cameras

My husband works from home 3 days a week and I do 1 day a week. He has an office and I float around the house. It’s usually lots of online meetings so it’s okay, but I don’t rule to stay as productive as I should be in down times as I’m usually surrounded by chaos so spend time faffing around sorting it. It’s not great.

I think you’ll just have to be a bit ruthless here - can either of you go into the office more? Can you each take a day to rent a space and share the cost? Can you put in a smaller couch or smaller kitchen table and get a desk? Folding desks?

I would rule out bedrooms as none of that sounds doable and focus on the lounge and kitchen.

I’m intrigued to know how your husband teaches the organ from home, @Xenia!

It is a very difficult post 2020 issue. I set up from home in the 1990s as a solicitor when I started working for myself and even in the 90s was publishing articles on legal issues of working from home. Our previous house had a separate side entrance to a one room extension and utility room - an office so that was perfect but quite small. When we moved here we wanted a room with separate downstairs rooms - no through rooms, no knocking through so I had a room downstairs to work and my children's father also taught the piano and organ from home (he is an organist and teacher) some of the time eg all day Saturday so he also needed a separate room. We ended up buying a house with 4 separate reception rooms off the hall way ( it was very very expensive then but in the end was worth it). We also soon had twin babies plus our 3 teenagers so having 2 receptions for the 2 very different groups of children was essential.

Then in the pandemic my twins were forced by law home from university so I bought one a nice big desk set up for about £1000 which has a lot of space for his quite large bed room so that worked for end of his degree and 2 years of post grad mostly from home but it does get hot up there. He now works from home - this week he has been in the office one day only but sometimes is in the office 3 days. Anyway this week he has been working on the patio on a very large out door table under a sun umbrella - for the UK given our awful weather this is not a good solution most of the year and even had 2 screens out there yesterday. We are no where near neighbours so no one could hear even if he had a call. He tends to run upstairs to his bed room desk for calls.

Yesterday I had my lawyer children who lives near me working here from home - she usually does 1 or 2 days a week from my house as has very small children at home (but does have n upstairs home office there) so she has the dining room which has a big table, printer etc.

Then my other twin son on his working from home days like today he uses his sister's old bed room where there is a smallish desk and his PC and his lap top.
Last week we had one day with 5 lawyers working here all in separate rooms. it is a whole new world from before 2020 when people had to be in the office 5 days a week,

Anyway my post really only says I am very lucky to have a big house so no use to the original poster at all - although just wait until you have THREE adult children working from your house plus you and your husband....... oh the joys....

Here is an image - it has a hinge where back meets seat (so can fold up it lie flat when not in use)

Here is the back support I suggested: it goes inside a standard dining chair & folds up or flat when not in use (so you could stash it away on non working days)

https://www.posturite.co.uk/medesign-backfriend?evsiteselection=consumer&gadsource=1&gadcampaignid=17348975216&gbraid=0AAAAAD-eFveZ1Yst-mgVMhRnj8P8hzGUh&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjdTCBhCLARIsAEu8bpLFTwF1FsvyE7Qezzx91biv9gkgAJHXIeCjcr5sAqyAuUx6nCUzxgaAsOxEALwwcB

Sounds like a positive plan in the circumstances OP. I feel the same as you about headphones - it feels odd that 'everyone' seems to spend so much time wearing them but they might help you focus and signal to DH that you're working and shouldn't be disturbed.

I don't know anything about them, but people often recommend Loop earbuds to block outside noise and they might be easier to get on with than a set of giant over the ear ones.

Is there room in DCs bedroom for the cardboard shop if they want to keep it, perhaps over the school holidays at least?

I would concentrate on a bedroom set up with the summer holidays coming up.

I can recommend this table, I bought one as an occasional option if I wanted to work downstairs from the sofa.

The legs are slightly set back more on one side, so the feet can poke under the sofa and you can pull the desk further over your lap so you're not slouching forwards to reach iykwim

Folding table - Amazon

It's not pretty but it works, providing you have somewhere you can store it. I can fit a laptop, portable monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse plus a cup of coffee. I never have any paperwork to do though.

You’re welcome