If you’re wondering how to set up a home office in a small space, here are the essentials:
- It’s entirely possible to create a small space home office, even in a studio flat
- Your choice of furniture (compact desk, corner desk or foldaway desk) is crucial for making the most of every square metre
- Good organisation and visual zoning of your workspace improve both comfort and productivity
- Compact equipment, such as a Mini PC, makes it far easier to optimise your workspace without cluttering up your desk
Working or studying from home when you’re short on space can quickly become rather frustrating. Yet with a few sensible choices, it’s perfectly possible to create a functional, comfortable and discreet small space home office – without encroaching on the rest of your living area.
Why Has Setting Up a Home Office in a Small Space Become So Essential?
Our relationship with domestic space has changed considerably in recent years, particularly with the rise of remote working and various hybrid working arrangements. For many people, the question of setting up a home office arose rather quickly.
However, not everyone has a spare room to dedicate to a workspace. This is especially true in urban areas – think London flats, city-centre apartments in Manchester or Birmingham – where living spaces tend to be on the smaller side. Yet improvising a workspace on the corner of the dining table or on the sofa can soon take its toll on your concentration and comfort.
Creating a small space home office, however modest, allows you to establish a clear boundary between your personal and professional life. A dedicated workspace promotes better organisation, reduces distractions and helps establish a more effective working routine. It also contributes to your daily well-being – whether by avoiding uncomfortable postures or visual clutter.
Even without a separate room, a well-thought-out desk becomes a functional anchor point. It’s an essential element for working in proper conditions from home.
How to Set Up a Home Office in a Small Space
Creating a workspace in a limited area requires a methodical approach above all else. Every square metre counts, so your choices of location and furniture have a direct impact on both comfort and functionality. Understanding how to set up a small space home office helps you avoid common pitfalls and create a working environment genuinely suited to daily use.
Choosing the Ideal Location
In a small home, your desk often needs to be installed in a room that’s already serving another purpose. Using a corner of the living room is the most common solution – provided you zone the space properly to minimise distractions. The bedroom can also accommodate a discreet desk, particularly when it’s built into a wall or tucked into an alcove. Some properties even allow you to make use of often-forgotten spaces, such as a wide hallway or a recess beneath a window.
Natural light plays an essential role. It’s advisable to position your desk near a window, as this improves visual comfort and reduces eye strain. For the overall setup, simple visual zoning is often sufficient – a rug, open shelving, or a different wall colour. These markers help create a distinct and identifiable space.
These principles are fundamental when considering how to create an office in a small space without compromising the room’s balance.
Choosing a Desk Suited to Small Spaces
There are various types of desks designed for small spaces. Here are the most practical options for gaining comfort and space:
- Corner desk for small spaces: Ideal for making use of areas that would otherwise go unused. It provides an extra work surface without impeding movement around the room, and fits easily into a living room or bedroom.
- Foldaway desk for small spaces: Perfect for studio flats or multi-purpose rooms, as it folds away after use. It’s a flexible solution for working without a permanent setup, taking up valuable floor space.
- Desk with integrated shelving: This type combines storage with a work surface, making good use of vertical space. It’s particularly well-suited to small homes where every bit of storage counts.
Your choice of a small space desk, therefore, depends on your aesthetic preferences as much as your practical needs.
How to Balance Comfort and Productivity in a Small Space Home Office
For many people, particularly since the pandemic, working from home has become the norm. Having a dedicated workspace has therefore become essential. However, setting up a home office in a small space requires striking the right balance between comfort, efficiency and discretion. Fortunately, even without a dedicated room, a well-designed workstation can help maintain a good level of focus day to day.
Basic ergonomics remain essential. You need an appropriate desk height, a comfortable chair and a screen positioned at eye level. All these adjustments help reduce physical fatigue.
In a compact space, organisation also plays a key role. A clear work surface, accessible storage and effective cable management all contribute to a more calming environment.
Finally, quiet is a determining factor for productivity. Visually zoning your small space office and establishing clear routines helps reduce distractions and better separate work time from personal time – even in a compact home.
Click and Read More about The Best Fanless Mini PC for Quiet and Efficient Home Computing
Optimising Your Space with Compact and Clever Equipment
In a small space home office, your choice of equipment is just as important as your choice of furniture. An unsuitable kit can quickly clutter up your desk and undermine your overall organisation, even when the layout itself is well thought out.
Why a Traditional Desktop PC Takes Up Too Much Room in a Small Office
A traditional desktop computer typically includes a bulky tower unit – an element that’s difficult to accommodate in a restricted space. Whether placed on the floor or on the desk, this tower reduces the available surface area and complicates the arrangement of your workspace. Add to this the tangle of visible cables – power, monitor, peripherals – and the visual clutter quickly mounts up, creating an impression of disorder.
The noise and heat generated by some traditional computers can also become bothersome, particularly during extended use in a confined environment. Finally, their rigid form factor leaves little room for flexible installation, making them tricky to integrate into a discreet or multi-function office setup.
Mini PC: An Ideal Solution for a Small Space Home Office
To address this problem, alternatives exist. The Mini PC has emerged as an ideal solution for optimising a small space home office. Its small form factor means it can be mounted behind a monitor, slipped under a desk or hidden inside a piece of furniture – freeing up your work surface in the process. This discretion makes for a tidier, more functional setup.
Despite its reduced size, the GEEKOM Mini PC delivers performance suited to everyday tasks – office work, web browsing, video conferencing and remote working. Certain models even support multiple monitors, which is a genuine asset for boosting productivity without additional clutter. Its low power consumption and quiet operation also make it particularly well-suited to small workspaces.
Example Setup: Small Space Home Office with Mini PC
To help you visualise the possibilities, here’s an example of how to set up a home office in a small space. Imagine a 25-square-metre studio flat in a city like London, Bristol or Edinburgh. The desk can be positioned in a corner of the living area, near a window to take advantage of natural light. Opting for a compact corner desk allows you to make use of an otherwise wasted spot whilst preserving circulation around the room.
The workstation includes a monitor mounted on an articulating arm, which frees up the desk surface. A compact keyboard and mouse have been chosen to reduce clutter further still. Finally, a discreet mini PC is installed behind the monitor – a powerful option essential for remote working, yet taking up virtually no additional space.
This modest arrangement transforms a simple corner into a functional and pleasant workspace, perfectly suited to daily tasks. With a few well-chosen decorative touches (plants, a rug, some artwork), it integrates harmoniously into the home. It demonstrates that working effectively is entirely achievable, even in a limited space.
FAQ: Small Space Home Office
How do I set up a home office in a small flat?
To set up a home office in a small flat, it’s important to choose a well-lit location and visually zone the space to create an identifiable work area. Using compact, multi-functional furniture makes it easier to integrate into the room without cluttering the rest of your home.
What type of desk should I choose for a small space?
A corner desk, foldaway desk or desk with built-in shelving allows you to make the most of every square metre without sacrificing work surface. The key is to favour designs that adapt to your available space and offer integrated storage.
Which computer is best suited to a small space home office?
For a small space home office, a mini PC is ideal. Its compact form factor means it can be placed behind the screen or under the desk, freeing up your work surface. It offers performance suited to remote working, office tasks and web browsing – all whilst remaining quiet and unobtrusive.
