Formal Dining or Home Office? How About Both?

Homes need to be more flexible as our lives and needs change. One space that has become more important with every passing year is a home office. With many people telecommuting or working for themselves, having space at home to handle needs that used to be limited to an off-site office has become common.

As you’re determining where you can fit a home office, take a look at your formal dining room. If you have an alternate eating area such as an in-kitchen table, how often do you really use that room? With a few additions, you can set up a working home office that is easy to disassemble when you want to entertain.

To start, you may just need a laptop and wireless Internet access. If your filing needs are limited, look for a rolling file cart at a nearby office store. They’re inexpensive and often have an additional shelf for holding papers.

Every discount store has containers designed to hold office supplies and additional papers. If you need more space, see if you can repurpose a drawer or cabinet in your buffet to handle office supplies.

Most dining room lighting is not designed for work. Consider picking up a floor lamp to provide additional work light as needed. As you use the space more, you will know what you need to make it work for you.

At some point you may realize that it’s time for a real office chair with wheels. If this happens, be sure to protect your dining room flooring. Wood floors and an area rug such as the one in the photo won’t do well with the wear of those wheels. An inexpensive thin rug or floor protector will solve this concern.

When you’re ready to use your dining room for its original purpose, simply gather your office together and temporarily move it to another room. If you remember to keep things simple, in about a half hour you can have a regular dining room again.