7 Ways To Create A Bedroom Office

When New Zealand was thrown into the first lockdown in March 2020, one thing became very obvious for most of us – working at the kitchen table for a long period of time wasn’t sustainable. 

And as with subsequent lockdowns & the trend of work-from-home days becoming the norm among most workplaces – a more permanent workstation has become essential.

Many of us have spare bedrooms. Maybe it once belonged to the kids who now occasionally come back home between flats, uni or relationship breakups. Then there’s the odd occasion that friends and family come to stay. 

However, here’s the reality – on average, the number of days you have a visitor to stay is between two to three days. So maybe that guest bedroom needs to be dual purpose and become your work-from-home hub too.

For many Kiwis, their own bedroom HAS to serve as an office because there’s nowhere else to work from in the home. 

So, we’ve put together a handy list of seven ideas to create a  bedroom office that will give you the best of both worlds. A space to sleep and be productive at the same time.

DECOR

Brenda Ngatai is a Resene Colour Consultant and works with New Zealanders when they are refurbishing or renovating their homes.  “Everything is connected to everything else,” she says of design when you are looking to restructure a room. “Primarily I look at colour & it has an affect on the look and feel of the room,” says Brenda.

So, when you’re merging a bedroom area and an office space, while there’s the need to keep them separate, there also needs to be a sense of cohesion. This can be done through colour and design, she says.

Brenda believes a softer colour tone is important to make the room relaxing rather than a hue which ‘overtakes’ the space. Pastels are go-to colours that sit quietly in the background. Dark colours can sometimes make a room look smaller or feel oppressive and make you feel sleepy, she says.

 A minimalist look is fine in principle, however, it depends on your personality or work needs. Replicating a glossy magazine image isn’t always practical. Adding pieces of art to the wall, photography or even, if the space allows, other furniture will personalise the room. However, given that you’re creating a dual-purpose space – you need to avoid clutter, Brenda says.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT BED

A queen size bed might be the right fit for your guests but it could be way too big for the room, given you have a desk in there too. You might need to start getting creative with the sleep space, especially when the room is going to be used predominantly as a work area.

A pullout bed from the wall is a possibility, but something rarely seen in New Zealand homes. Instead, why not consider a Sleepyhead Chiropractic Trundler bed. A king single bed won’t take up much room, but it cleverly pops up and out into either a double bed or a  pullout single below. Of course, you may have the room for a king size bed or larger, so check out our Sleepyhead range of beds and our bed size guide to find out the what might suit your guest bedroom.

STORAGE

Obviously, creating storage in an office bedroom is going to need some clever thinking to avoid clutter and mess. If your workstation is normally piled high under mountains of paperwork, now is maybe the time to start streamlining things and pushing everything online. However, there are ways to look at giving yourself some much needed space – other than shoving everything in the closet. 

The bed base is perfect for storage. Try a drawer base or a space base. If the mattress you are using can be stored elsewhere then try our Sleepyhead Zero paired with a Kitset Base that can be broken down to clear some space in your office bedroom when guests aren’t staying.

HIDE IT IN THE CLOSET

Brenda says that new housing builds and renovations now allow for completely bespoke and dedicated work spaces to reflect our changing needs around the home. Nooks are a part of a room separated from the rest of the room that are an emerging trend in new houses, she says. These offer the perfect place to put a home office, creative space or workstation.

However,  if you have to work with the room you’ve got then one clever idea could be to convert the closet or wardrobe in the bedroom into a workstation. That way, it can be completely shut off when you’re not using it. It may not provide natural light – considered to help improve your work productivity. But keep reading to find a workaround.

LIGHTING

It’s recommended that you position your desk near natural light like a window because numerous studies have shown that it improves your satisfaction and ultimately how well you work. 

Brenda explains that the natural light also serves a greater purpose by helping to regulate the body’s circadian rhythms – the sleep/wake cycle. If you don’t have the luxury of natural light in the room where you work then choose the right kind of lighting for the room, says Brenda. Avoid anything that adds glare to your computer screen and try to use warm overhead lighting.

THE RIGHT WORKSTATION

You might be working on a makeshift trestle table or one of those trendy cardboard standup desks that were all over the internet when we first went into lockdown. However, if this bedroom office is going to be a more permanent arrangement, then it’s probably time to look at a proper desk space.

Try and find a desk that is basic and streamlined to help reduce the clutter in your bedroom office. Position the desk so it’s outward facing. That means you won’t be looking at the bed and feel tempted to just crawl in and take a nap. Your chair is also pretty important depending on how much time you’re going to spend in it. You may need to consider something more ergonomic and comfortable.  

SEPARATION

Finally, a bedroom office is probably the only room in the house that really is serving two completely different purposes, says Brenda. If you permanently sleep in that room then it’s two parts of your life merging. Create some sense of separation between the two – look at the possibility of a screen to divide the space up. And if it’s a room for guests, some sense of separation is nice to keep that area private for when people are staying.