Organizing Your Home Office Hall of Fame

We tackled organizing your home office as part of the Organized Home Challenge, and lots of readers have sent in photos of their results, which is what I'm showcasing below.


Some people have whole rooms devoted to their home office, and you'll see those photos below.

However, not everyone has the space to have a whole room just for a home office, or their house wasn't designed that way, but they found they needed one.

Therefore, below you'll also see pictures from people who've used a small area within another room for the purpose of creating a home office area, and others that have converted another room, originally with a different purpose, into a home office for themselves.

What I like about all of these photos is that they're real. These aren't staged photos for a magazine, or something unattainable. Instead, they're real life, which means you can do it too!

As always, there's very rarely one good way to organize, but instead many ways that will work. You just need to find the one that works for you!

So have an open mind as you review these photos, taking the ideas for yourself that will work, while leaving those ideas behind that won't, either because of the layout of your house, what you need to do within your home office, or because of your personality that prefers some ways of organizing to another.

So let's start out with one of the first photos from a reader, below. This one is from Jennifer, who said, "I cleaned my desk. This is a HUGE accomplishment because it's normally piled with tons of crap...the dumping zone."



Scroll on down for even more ideas and photos! Also, remember that I'd love for you to take this week's challenge too.

Once you do, make sure to take some before and after pictures and submit them to me here and I'll add the best ones to the site!


Top photo courtesy of EvelynGiggles

I've Set Up My Home Office In My Kitchen

Ferris from The Hamman Family Blog shared an after picture of her small home office area which is located in her kitchen.

She said, "The desktop computer was a mess, cords everywhere. I moved all that stuff and dusted and organized the cords a little better. How nice does that look!!!"

I know a lot of people feel like this week's challenge isn't for them if they don't have a whole room for their home office, but really that just isn't the case.

Whether you've got a whole room or not every household needs a place to do paperwork, pay bills, and deal with school papers, for example.

For some people that it just the cleared off kitchen table, and that's fine. But if you find yourself needing space for these activities more consistently be creative and perhaps you can find a place in your home for a more permanent home office, even without a room dedicated to it.

Here's another photo, from a reader, Katie, who also used part of her kitchen as her home office.

Adding A Hutch Above Your Desk Adds More Storage Space

Here's an example of a desk which contains a hutch above it. These are a great way to add additional storage space to your home office.

I also like that this furniture doesn't look like traditional office furniture.

It just makes it seem so more homey and cheerful somehow.

Desk Hutches {Referral Links}

Similarly, you can also add shelving or cabinets above your desk to give more space.



Above is a photo from a reader, Cheryl, who has shelves where she's added baskets, for extra storage, such as for home office supplies and similar items.

In addition, here's another photo from a reader, Terri, who has cabinets above her home office desk.



Terri said, "I was so thrilled to find this website and support. We are planning a move after living in our home for 37 years. We've done quite a bit of cleaning in the past couple of years but this year is the final push. This was my attempt to create an office area and clean off the desk. I'm pleased!"

Top photo courtesy of Janet Hudson

The Family Office Area: We Call It Our Command Center

by Samantha

Samantha says:

This is the "family" office downstairs. (I am working on converting an upstairs closet into an office.)

The cubbies are for mail, checks, receipts and coupons.

The basket is for all the papers that come home from school.

The small frames are for each of my 4 kids to use dry erase markers to write down things they need/need to do.

All normally used home/school supplies are there, plus the household notebook and the family printer, accessible to the gazillion laptops and gadgets we have floating around.

We call this our "command center".

Taylor says:

I love this Samantha. It's not even a desk, which is fine for your purposes, it is just a small flat surface in a corner.

I think this just goes to show that you don't have to have something traditional for it to be both pretty and functional.

I also note you've got your family calendar hanging up on the wall. This area of your home is a great place for it as well since it appears everyone in the house uses this area frequently.

You can see a lot more "command centers" in this article, which can give you ideas for your own family.

Converted Our Breakfast Nook Into My Office

by Erin

A reader, Erin, shared this picture of the area her family turned into her office.

She said, "We turned our breakfast nook into my office. I can get things done and not be away from my family."

I think Erin brings up a good point. When you're considering where to put your home office, you need to decide whether you want to be able to close yourself away from others to try to get work done, or if it would be better to stay in the thick of the action.

Of course, you don't always get the luxury of getting to make this decision, but if you have the choice definitely think about it first.

This is a personal decision that has to take into account lots of factors, so there is no right or wrong answer but it is worth considering before you set everything up so it works for you as well as possible.

Created A Home Office In Our Dining Room

Colleen shared these pictures above, of the area that her family created in their home for their computer and filing area.

She said: "I took pics of what my husband did a few years ago for computer. He used kitchen countertop in our small informal dining room and some basic cabinets. He has half and my daughter uses the other for her art.

This is just a great example of finding space for something they really wanted in their home, even if it is an unconventional space. I think it looks great Colleen!

In addition, below is another photo from a reader, Tamara, who also converted her dining room into a home office.

Convert A Closet Into A Home Office Area

Another idea is to convert a closet into a home office area.

Above is a photo from a reader, Britt, who did exactly that. She said, "finally finished my office closet makeover!!!!"

It looks great Britt!

If you want space for an office area, with a place for supplies and files, for example, but don't have a room to devote to this task, perhaps you can find a closet that will work.

My Home Office Desk Is A Work In Progress

Stephanie shared the picture above of the desk she uses for her family's paperwork.

I think this picture illustrates something really important -- sometimes all you need for a "home office" is a flat surface to work on.

Storage solutions and organizers can be helpful if you've got lots of computer and other equipment, or lots of papers you need access to, but other times just a place to lay things out and work is all that is needed.

It only needs to be as complicated as necessary to work, and no more complicated than that!

Here's another photo from a reader, Melissa, showing her home office space as well.

Melissa said, "I organized my hubby's desk today. I WISH I had taken a "before" picture! Ugh - it was a disaster! I repurposed BASKETS as filing containers on hubby's desk. I heart baskets."

See how simple it can be to get a space cleared off and ready to use?

Are You Ready To Get Organized Now?

I hope that these pictures, shared by readers, of their organized home office areas has inspired you to create or organize your own as well.

If it's also made you catch the organizing bug I'd love for you to also join the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge. In it each week we tackle a different area or type of item in our home and get it decluttered and organized.

Over the course of the year we go through the whole house, also developing positive habits and routines as we go, and by the end of the year you can have an organized home!

If you do work on organizing your home office make sure to share your before and after pictures with me here because I'll feature the best ones on the site.

Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase a product through them I receive a small commission which helps me provide this information to you for free, plus support my family. My integrity and your satisfaction are very important to me so I only recommend products I would purchase myself, and that I believe would benefit you. To learn more please see my disclosure statement.

Related Pages You May Enjoy

52 Week Challenge Home Organization Hall of Fame

Getting Rid of Home Office & Technology Clutter Hall of Fame

Free Printable Home Office Supplies List

Go From Organizing Your Home Office Hall of Fame To Home Page