Welcome to my office.
We had to creatively engineer a second office space into our one bedroom condo a few years ago and learned a lot in the process. Now that so many people are working from home for the first time (and in small spaces like ours) we thought we’d share the best things we found along the way.
A small desk - If your coffee table is just not cutting it this Ikea option is perfect. It’s inexpensive, takes up very little space, and looks really nice. If you need something to get you through quarantine, it’s a super solid option that you can totally assemble on your own.
A Portable Monitor- The number one thing I missed from my office is my second monitor, but the small desk above doesn’t give me tons of space for a big monitor and I don’t always need it. This one doesn’t need it’s own outlet (it works off of your computer power) so it also really helps minimize the outlets needed in a small desk space. Once things return to normal this is also a great buy if you spend a lot of time traveling or in co-working spaces, Ben sets his up on the Amtrak all the time.
Noise cancelling headphones - It happens all the time, one of us is trying to focus and the other is on a phone call. If you need a budget option these are great, comfortable, and have paired well with everything. Benjamin swears by this Jabra pair if you’re on the phone a lot (they’re definitely on the pricey side but you can get 40% off your first purchase from them). I love my Apple pros too, a lot more than I thought I would, but if you just need a budget pair to get you through this, the first pair I linked is your go to.
A Coffee Warmer - Hear me out here, this is the best $10 you can spend to keep your home coffee budget in check. The specific model we both have on our desks is out of stock, but this one looks close to what we have. When we first started working from home our coffee budget got way out of hand, these help make sure we’re not putting cold coffee down the drain.
Travel Power Strip - I originally bought this when I was traveling a lot for work and staying in a lot of boutique (ie: budget) hotels that tend to be low on outlets. This is small, can change directions depending on the space you need it to serve, and has two USB ports. I still love them for travel, but they’re awesome for making the most of one outlet at home, too.
More Lighting - If your small space is also low on lighting I love this desk lamp. The flat base means it doesn’t take up much real estate and you can set other things on it. I currently have this cute dinosaur phone stand on my lamp, so my phone is always propped up, out of the way, but easy to see.
The other Lamp is an older version of this tried and true Target staple. It’s great because it also takes up very little space, but adds some extra shelving and storage. Most of which I’ve taken up with books, shrug, I am who I am.
Folding Chairs - When we first put the second office together I wasn’t working out of it full time, so I wanted a desk chair that looked nice and went with the desk, but could also store away. Target has carried various versions of this over the years, but it’s great for my small desk space, and easy to put away when we don’t need it. If you’re looking for something a little more “office” Benjamin has this one, it’s budget friendly and we did not hate putting it together.
Photos You Love. Besides the desk, probably the thing I get asked about the most is the photos. Fair, I LOVE these. They were super easy to make and I just really like having some of our favorite places featured on my office wall. It takes this from functional to a happy place I enjoy.
Flower Subscription. Since it’s in the picture it only seems fair to link it. Benjamin got me a subscription to Enjoy Flowers a few years ago and it still makes me so happy to get a flower refresh delivered once a month. I fully realize this is not at all necessary, but it does make me happy, especially right now when we’re spending SO much time in the house.