Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

Aibu to ask - if you permanent work from home - where is your office

124 replies

Officewhere · 19/09/2019 22:43

So- I have my own business and work from home. I currently work from my (admittedly very large) lounge. Have a desk which overlooks the garden etc.

Am about to move to a new home, and chances are I’ll end up using a bedroom as an office which I’ve never fancied. I’d previously worked at the kitchen table but not fancying going back to that,

Aibu to ask - if you have a home office - where is it and how do you find it?

OP posts:

WYP2018 · 20/09/2019 22:51

I have a three storey townhouse and I’m set up in a tiny dressing room off the top bedroom. There’s no windows and it’s awful! We are moving ASAP though so I’m hoping for a separate study.

Frazzled2207 · 21/09/2019 08:51

We both wfh- him full time me part time.
We built a loft conversion which is a large spare bedroom with his office taking up about half of it.

We moved both boys into the same bedroom (large room, small age gap, no complaints) and I now have the box room. It used to be the baby room but is not really big enough for a "proper" bedroom.

Secondsop · 21/09/2019 09:29

We have a little side room downstairs that leads to the lootility and I’ve set it up as a little library for all our books and also my WFH office with a small desk. I love it. An important thing in my view is temperature control - will it be warm enough in winter and cool enough in summer? My room is on the side of the house so gets angled light but doesn’t get boiling hot in summer. It also has a daybed in so is good for guests, plus for adopting a recumbent position on long conference calls

PawPawNoodle · 21/09/2019 10:08

The only space at Chez Noodle is in the bedroom - the desk was already there as my make up and nice tranquility spot, and now its sadly infected with boring work shit.

I hate it and often end up taking myself out to the local coffee shop to work if I dont need physical files, because otherwise I end up having a "20 minute nap" in the lovely comfy bed constantly in my line of sight. I really must find a new plan.

Orangesox · 21/09/2019 10:22

DH and I both have our own study/office. He’s taken one of the single bedrooms in the top floor, I have a purpose built study on the middle floor with huge windows as I like lots of daylight and to be nosy . I can’t have my actual work stuff all over the house, it needs to be shut away behind a door where I can ignore it.

In in depths of winter though, I can be found snuggled up on the recliner sofa, wrapped in a blanket. I have a table for my laptop that sits neatly over my legs for those lazy days!

Mileymileymoomoo · 21/09/2019 10:25

Spare bedroom / converted roof space which also services as DDs playroom. All good apart from the chance of the falling over the toys.

I like that it a separate room so I can “leave work” - close the door, come downstairs and switch off. I don’t think I would like my office space in a room I use for other things.

Basketofkittens · 21/09/2019 10:32

I just had a 30 story office block constructed in my garden with an underground tunnel through to my wine cellar so I don’t even have to go outside. There’s a Starbucks coffee shop too. To be fair, it’s a vair large garden.

Toomanycats99 · 21/09/2019 10:44

My bedroom is a loft conversion and it goes front to back. Back half is bedroom. Front half office. It helps that room narrows by the stairs and front sits under eaves so gives it a sense of separation.

Scentsandsensible · 21/09/2019 11:15

@basketofkittens a Starbucks? How very common

Basketofkittens · 21/09/2019 16:02

I love Starbucks and have a gold card. I have 57 hemp milk pumpkin spice lattes a day. I could have installed a hipster artisan place which sells organic quinoa coffee grown by moonlight but I decided to stick with Starbucks.

Teensruletheroost · 21/09/2019 16:36

Purpose built office with a separate entrance on the corner of the house. Not a massive office but massive 8ft window so plenty of light.

OP if you rarely have overnight visitors I would definitely use the second largest room. After all you will spend a lot of time in there.

WanderingMind · 21/09/2019 17:05

I use the outhouse. It previously was a hair salon so I work in a pink floral ”office” with loads of mirrors. When in not in there I'm in my purpose built craft room. Love my house!

MinnieMountain · 21/09/2019 17:25

DH uses the upstairs spare bedroom. Which we've never had a bed in. Once DS needs a bigger bedroom, they'll swap round.

Our neighbour runs her own business from a pretty blue shed that takes up the width of the end of her garden.

septembersunshine · 21/09/2019 18:15

My work area is under the stairs. I have a writing bureau in there and to work out of it i just open the door and pull up a chair. Its a tiny area really but our whole house is tiny! Op I would use the smallest bedroom for your area. You can make it really nice and you can shut the door on it all after you are done everyday which I think is important.

amusedbush · 21/09/2019 18:41

We’re currently doing up our first house (currently in a dump of a rented flat) and I’ve claimed the box room as my office. I’m so excited to have a nice space of my own to work.

fiorentina · 21/09/2019 19:04

In our old house we built my DH desk into the spare room wardrobe so he could shut his office away at the end of the day and also if we had guests to stay. He was out the way when DC were downstairs and wasn’t walking in our room so felt separate/professional.
Could you rent a desk in a shared workplace if you want separation? Some can be really reasonable.

CloudsCanLookLikeSheep · 22/09/2019 02:20

Small bedroom is a study. I can work from bed propped up with pillows and a lap tray if I'm feeling ill/tired tho!

Trebla · 22/09/2019 07:41

Separate cottage on the grounds. Which is good as staff don't need to be in the main house.

Appletreehouse · 22/09/2019 08:09

We have our tiny 4th box bedroom set up as an office. I share it with my DH as we alternate days working from home. We have a fold away desk from IKEA, as it gives cleaner lines when not in use as can cram everything in there. We chose a bold, colourful wallpaper for the wall behind the desk which actually makes it feel less closed in.

Controversially I do like to do some household jobs whilst working from home so sometimes prefer working from our kitchen table looking out over the garden as it's good to be able to stir soup etc, but I can't work there when I have the washing machine on so I often move my laptop around during the day depending on what I'm doing.

Our children are at school/nursery whilst we're working but it's nice to have a closed off space we can retreat to if one of us is working whilst the other arrives home with the kids early evening. I also feel strongly that I don't want the children to feel my work spills into their home so like that we can pack away everything into one room that's not in our living space when they're home.

cheesenpickles · 22/09/2019 08:11

I have a small office which is the converted box room. It's got my iMac, desk, all the books and CDs in the house. However, a lot of the time I work on my laptop in the dining room as it's closer to the coffee.

babymum89 · 22/09/2019 08:12

Have a look on Pinterest at under stairs office space, that's what I have and I LOVE it, sort of built in and at the end of the day doors shut and it become a cupboard!

Ballacre · 22/09/2019 08:15

Hi,

We live in a small housing association property so I have to be a little inventive. In the early morning or when DS is out, the lounge can be used. For Skype work, I use my bedroom, but I need to close the window to cut out traffic noise. I have also phoned clients when I am out and about as long as it is not in a public place and I have performed admin tasks in cafes.

It all depends on the type of work that you do. Most of my work is online, so as long as there is a good internet connection, I am able to carry on my work.

The idea of having a designated working space appeals to me, but currently there is little physical distinction between where I do most of my work, where I perform caring responsibilities and my where domestic activities are undertaken.

Milicentbystander72 · 22/09/2019 08:45

I have a garden office. Beautiful pitched roof, wooden structure, wooden floors, double glazing and broadband connection from the house via cable. It cost about 5k. It's footings are only 4m x 4m but it's perfect for me. Obviously you need a garden big enough.

boptist · 22/09/2019 10:23

I use the small bedroom which is at the front of the house. I like that I can keep all of my work-related stuff to one space and when the door's shut, that's that.

Things that I find helpful are having my desk at the window, so I look outdoors; spending a bit of time/money on the furnishing and have solar-powered fairy lights up so that it's a nice space to be in; storing as much stuff away as possible so that it's tidy and cleaning it on work's time

If it's fair weather and I'm just using a laptop though I tend to work from the library to get me out of the house.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5