Creating a tiny study - would this work?

[tinyoffice]

We have a 1960s house which has been extended a few times both by us and previous owners. The most recent extension was done by us and created the archetypal kitchen / living space at the back of the house. We retained a sort of 'middle room' which has had a few functions, was a kids playroom, then a tv room, but now is a waste of space and general dumping ground which drives me potty...

I'm working from home still, and do a job which is confidential, so I can't use any of the open plan rooms, at the moment I have a folding desk and work in the front living room with the door closed. It's fine but it gets on my nerves having to pack everything away every night, and then get it out in the morning, and sometimes I'd quite like to do an extra bit of work after dinner but can't face moving everyone out and setting up again.

So! I had the idea this week of building a stud wall in the middle room, see attached plan, it's the one I've marked in purple. It would be around 1.5m wide by 2.5m long. Does anyone have any thoughts about whether this would work a) would the space inside the office be ok, and b) would it create an unnecessary long corridor which would be worse than the dumping ground? I don't have lots of cash to do this, so don't want to do a bigger project and move things around if I can avoid it.

All thoughts gratefully received! Thanks

Sorry @tinyoffice . I edited to add the link.

I’ve had a pocket door and it worked well until it didn’t. It came off the rail. It was a pain in the arse to fix - beyond DH’s DIY skill set without taking the door trim off. Chatting to someone about it, they asked us where the special tool was… once we got the special tool it was relatively straightforward. Don’t ask me what the tool was. Our landlord had it.

Sorry OP I have not read all the posts above but thought I would share what I did in my study. I had a largish cupboard barely used in my spare bedroom. So I made it into a desk with all the computer paraphernalia stored inside and when not in use I just shut the door and it tidied away everything. My builder built a pullout shelf under the desk to house the keyboard/ mouse and shelves above for files etc. and a zillion electric plug points!!

@Tupster - I know, it's quite tricky. If I was doing the extension again I'd probably not create this middle space at all, maybe I'd have put more of the kitchen in there.

I think this is the consequence of having houses which are extended or altered a few times - things end up being higgledy piggledy and not how they might have been designed if you started with a blank canvas. For us it was the only option when we were buying our house, we couldn't afford a larger place so we have tried to make the best of the space we have, but it does create this kind of dilemma. I don't want to move now as housing is so expensive, and trying to save to retire a little bit earlier.

I also find it really hard to visualise a space until I've lived in it for a while, which is why this thread is so useful to get thoughts about it!

I think it's s good idea to go with half stud and half window.
or glass bricks for part of the wall for daylight and lerception of depth in the hallway.

or just a book shelf as room divider

It would be nice to install transom windows above the door and along the wall to make the corridor light.

I would say - 'household- I need a study. You can have 2 areas out of: the living room, Sitting room 1 and Sitting room 2.

When I'm not using my study others can sit in there - as long as you take your stuff out again.'

Realistically no one is going to use the area to the left of your study (except to go to the bathroom) so you might as well just have a wall going straight across and make a decent sized space.

@Unleashthehordes - oh that page is so helpful, thank you. Some good ideas there for glass doors, there's a lovely pocket door one on there too.

Thanks @fairislecable - I had no idea those windows were called transom, that opens up a whole new avenue for me to google along! Thanks - great idea and they look really nice.

The area to the left of the proposed study is the only route to the kitchen!

Yes that's right @titchy. I see your reasoning @Boating123 but there are three hungry teens all coming home at different times, one has a health condition so also needs (sometimes unpredictable) access to the kitchen, plus they use the garden room too so wouldn't be able to walk back and forward between the kitchen / garden room and the front of the house including the stairs to their rooms.

Plus they are all in that teen brain stage where nobody seems to be able to think for themselves, so unless there is a physical barrier like a door between me and them I think I'd never escape from the "where is...?" / "can you take me to...?" / " can I eat this?" questions 😂 at the moment they know the closed door to the lounge means they have to wait to ask me something, but if they can see me it's a free for all 🤣

I once had a tiny study I loved, so I think the space could work well. I do think that the smaller the space, the more important it is to make it work well for you. After a comfortable work station and chair the most important thing is possibly a good source of natural light.

Could be a very satisfying project

My desk is 140 wide and 70 deep. It's more than big enough. Put that along the short wall and you will have plenty of room. How much do you need really?

Transom windows would be a great idea and look cool.

I think this would add value to your house as it's an extra useable room.

I would just put in lockable sliding/folding doors, not a wall.

Great thread. Sorry to say none of our solutions from the cottage would translate into your space and suit your remit. We have 2 spaces we use in bedrooms. Both have a window to the side and one makes use of an alcove effect created by the chimney breast. I personally like working in our dining room, but it’s only discreet when no one pops through to the kitchen. Generally, this can be achieved as most of the time I’m the main wfh person.

My MIL has the ideal space in her house. It’s a tiny little extra room with a big cupboard that’s her airing cupboard. The rest of the room is too shallow for a bedroom, but fits 2 chests of drawers, 2 large suitcases and a load of bookshelves.

Just wanted to come back on here in case anyone else has this idea to let you know I did it! So we put in a partition wall and put in double doors which are opaque glazed. Its final dimensions are 2.4m by 1.3m, and it's a perfect space, I'm really pleased with it! It makes much better use of the space compared with how we had it before, and when the doors are closed it looks really neat.

Just figuring out how I want to decorate it now!

Really glad to hear it went well for you, OP - thank you for updating!

Op I am thinking of doing something similar so if you wouldn’t mind sharing pictures it would be much appreciated! Thank you in advance

I once lived in a flat with a storage cupboard of those dimensions. I carpeted it and managed to fit in a desk and a couple of bookcases. There was no window but it already had a light and a power socket. I loved my little cozy study.

Posters have good ideas and you could also try Pinterest.

That's brilliant! Want to share a photo?

Sounds great, OP, and I would also love to see it