Many of us have been working from home for quite a while now. And many of us still don’t have a proper place to focus on work in peace. If you don’t have a whole room in your home that you can devote to a home office, we have the perfect solution for you: a cloffice!
A cloffice is a closet-turned-office. A closet in a spare bedroom would be perfect for this transformation, but any closet in your home will do. You may have to clear out some space to make room for your new workspace, and what better time to make that space than during your spring cleaning?
A wider closet with double doors would be ideal for this project, but even a single door closet would work. A cloffice is the perfect solution for someone who’s tight on space but is seeking a new place to focus on work with minimal distractions (looking at all the puppies out there).
You may think that turning a closet into an office space would be simple, but you’ll want to pay attention as we go through these points. Getting expert advice on how to DIY may be the difference between building your favorite place in the house and never wanting to open those closet doors again.
Building a Cloffice
Step one:
Find a closet in your home that you can clear out. Disperse the stuff around your home, and donate what you don’t need anymore.
Step two:
Remove the existing closet door(s). You can leave the space open or add a sliding barn door if you’d prefer to hide your cloffice away at the end of the day.
Step three:
Remove the clothing rod from the closet. You may also need to remove/adjust any shelving that is currently in there.
Step four:
Add a desk. You can purchase a desk that fits perfectly in your space, or to save money and have a more custom fit, you can buy 2x4’s and sand & stain them to your liking. If you’re planning on having any food or drinks on your new desk, we highly recommend finishing the wood with a waterproof sealant, like epoxy. Also, office desks are typically about 30” tall, so keep that in mind if you decide to DIY it. Use L-brackets to attach the desk to the wall and use shelving units to hold up the front (hello, extra storage!). Drill a hole in the back of your desk so you can feed cords through and have less clutter on the surface of your desk.
Step five:
Add pegboard to the back wall of the closet. Pegboards are great for adding storage and can be painted any color to fit your aesthetic. Attach the pegboard to a thin wood strip to screw into studs on the wall. This ensures plenty of space between the pegboard and the wall to be able to hang pegboard accessories comfortably.
Step six:
Add battery-powered lighting to the bottom of that top shelf, above your desk. Your work just got a whole lot easier to see, and you’ll look great on those zoom calls.
Step seven:
You may need a WiFi booster to get the best internet connection to your new space. Test it out!
Pro Tips:
Use cute baskets, like canvas or woven, on the top shelf of your closet to keep necessities hidden and keep your cloffice looking nice and clean.
Get an office chair that either has no arms or arms that are shorter than the height of your desk. This way, you’ll be able to tuck the chair in and still be able to close your cloffice door with the chair inside.