Work-from-home setups come in all shapes and sizes depending on the space available. Whether you have a desk slipped into a small closet or an entire room dedicated to a home office, it's important to stay organized. Regardless of how much space you have, these home office storage ideas will help keep your space tidy.
Setting up an organized system for your office supplies makes them accessible during a busy day. It also makes it easier to wind down on the weekends if you keep your work materials tucked away and out of sight. Maintaining a work-life balance is particularly important when your home is also the office, after all.
Take inspiration from the following home office storage ideas and use them to create a fully functional workspace for yourself.
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Custom Supply Storage
A sliver of well-designed open shelving in a small home office is all you need to hold necessities. Individual slots for folders, binders, and envelopes, wider shelves for storage boxes, and a slide out tray with a printer near an outlet makes for a streamlined system. Attach a desk with drawers to hold smaller supplies to the built-in bookcase and you’re ready to tackle the day.
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Dual Office Space
The reality is that sometimes you need to share a space with your significant other if you’re both working from home for the foreseeable future. Make sure to give yourselves enough room to spread out by installing an elongated table and sliding a few file cabinets underneath to hold double the paperwork. Equally long floating shelves on the wall above provide storage for books and baskets full of supplies.
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Stacked Office Storage
As paperless as the world has become, some professions still require a great deal of physical paperwork to be handled. If that’s the case for you, consider rejecting a typical file cabinet and opt for something slightly more stylish. A stackable system of drawers, in monochromatic white to match the office walls, keeps a plethora of paper organized and limits visual clutter.
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Desktop Accessories
Regardless of the storage space within your desk, it’s good to have a few, often used supplies at your fingertips. Keep items like pencils and paperclips sorted in individual trays and corral at least some into a caddy. This not only looks neater, it also makes cleaning the surface of the desk an easier task.
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Floating Surfaces
Create a simple, yet fun area that can double for work or after school homework out of an underused closet. Patterned papered interior walls are the perfect backdrop for a floating desk and overhead shelving. Colorful boxes and bins can contain supplies and notes on the shelves while a mix of things like mason jars and a lazy Susan separate pens and markers.
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Privacy Partition
Whether you need to share a workspace with your kid or your spouse, it’s not a bad idea to create a little separation by way of a bookshelf. Place an open unit between two desks and arrange books, plants, and family photos on the shelves for both parties to admire whenever they need a brain break.
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Alcove Office Space
An arched nook in your home is a sweet spot to set up shop. Squeeze in a small desk, complete with drawers for basic office supplies and files. Hide clutter within matching baskets and stacking boxes on a pair of floating shelves. Keep desktop clutter to a minimum with magazine files and horizontal organizers.
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Cubby Storage
Cube units, while often popular toy storage systems, are ideal for offices as well. If your kids have outgrown the one in their playroom, repurpose it in your home office to keep books and binned up supplies neat. Intermittently add in decor items to create a chic, yet functional, look.
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Floor-to-Ceiling Shelving
If your line of work comes with its fair share of supplies, you may need to designate a whole room to a home office. Rather than cluttering it with cabinets and furniture, however, keep the floors (and your mind) clear by utilizing built-in bookcases wherever there is wall space. Use the color coding method to arrange your books and store the rest of the supplies by category in minimalistic, matching containers.
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A Maximized Cloffice
The cloffice trend, or closet-turned-office, has risen in recent years. It allows you to create an assigned workspace where no other room is available. If it’s something that will solve your limited space woes, make sure to maximize the storage space when designing it. Build in a desk with plenty of drawers and hang shelves as high as they’ll go to accommodate both supplies and decorative pieces that reflect your style.
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Minimalist Design
Another small space desk idea is to add a narrow console table behind the couch. Keep only the essentials nearby by including a stackable organizer, pencil cup, and headphone stand on the surface. In lieu of standard office seating, choose an accent chair that goes with the rest of the living room.
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Closed Storage Cabinets
For a sleek office style in any area of the house, consider flanking a set of cabinets on either side of a modest desk. Organize work supplies by type within baskets and place them on shelves behind the closed cabinet doors. This keeps everything easily readily available but also hidden away on your days off.
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Concealed Kitchen Workstation
Kitchens are often overlooked as a possible home office. Usually, it’s because there may not be enough space to carve out a corner for a desk. But, the reality is that only a small amount is needed to make it possible. A pocket door that opens to reveal a slight desk with a drawer and accompanying shelves for supplies provides just enough room to concentrate on calls or let the kids study while you prep dinner.
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Pretty and Practical
A home office that makes you happy to be in can also help you be more productive. So, when designing your workspace, look for organizing tools that will keep your things tidy and bring a smile to your face. Gold accented supplies, such as ceramic trinket dishes, a magnetic memo strip, and a mail sorter, will have you feeling luxurious even when presented with a mundane task.
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Vertical Supply Storage
When faced with minimal square footage, always look to the wall for additional storage space. Next to your desk, hang a set of floating shelves for supplies, a calendar, and one or two wall-mounted file organizers for important paperwork. This keeps your desk clear of clutter and the necessities still within reach.
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Stylish Office Storage
However you decide to design your home office, the organizing products you choose should be the finishing touches. Match them to the overall look of the workspace so they blend seamlessly. For example, an office filled with live plants deserves other earthy accessories. Look for a file cabinet and tray in natural wood tones along with a desk and pencil cup in shades of green.
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Choose Versatile Furniture
A minimalist, do-it-all table serves as a desk with loads of energetic style. This stylish furniture piece blends into your home naturally and can be easily converted into an after-school gaming station for the kids or a buffet station for your next party.
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Office Wall Decor
An acrylic wall calendar is equally functional, stylish, and easy to use because it can be easily updated each month. Plus, it matches with just about any design style.
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Personalize Your Supplies
A desk area outfitted with organizational tools can fulfill an array of filing needs. Here, open envelopes hold important bills and notices while magazine files below are used forarchiving previous work. For a cohesive look, find containers of the same color, but offer different kinds of storage solutions for various tasks. Tack paper organizers to the wall for a place you can easily access, and use closed containers for hiding things like unsightly charger cords.
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Maximize Wall Space
Work board or work of art? You decide. The whole family will love this chalk wall perfect for jotting down notes or creative doodling. Once you have an office space carved out, paint one wall or a section of a wall withchalkboard-style paint.
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Corner Desk Storage
This corner workspace for two involves some serious storage. The open shelving unit is great for everyday needs. Having office supplies so easily in reach makes it easy to remember to put things away. Adjacent to the desks, a cabinet unit keeps bulky, unsightly items out of sight. If your work involves confidential files, consider adding desk drawers that lock to keep curious minds out of your things.