As lots of the country is still working from home the need for a dedicated workspace has become increasingly popular. When we started house hunting we found out we were not alone in the search for a home with an extra room for a desk. The market was moving very quickly and the small box rooms which were previously ignored were becoming a hot commodity.

I started thinking about what we actually needed from an office, did it actually make sense to dedicate a full room to work? I also knew that I didn’t want to just add a desk to a bedroom. I know it works for some people but I just feel like the two spaces require completely opposite energy. I like my workspace to be creative, motivating and inspiring and a bedroom to be serene and cosy. I’d be compromising both if we were to combine them. So the questions was, what space did we actually need?

Before we moved we were living in a rental flat with no separate office. We added a desk and some drawers to a corner of the living room and that was more than enough space for us. Tenement flats traditionally have a recess in the living room and kitchen, sometimes they have been left open but in our flat it had been turned into a cupboard. The space is 1.8m wide and 1.2 deep and we decided it was the perfect place for our Coorie HQ.

One thing Stuart was adamant about was adding a beer fridge to the office. He originally wanted a kegerator but we managed to agree on a built in fridge under the desk. Because we work in property design and renovation I wanted to make the space feel quite industrial. We chipped the plaster off one wall and left it exposed, I followed this tutorial to repair the mortar and seal the brick. We also built a custom desk from plywood to make the most of the space and to add to industrial/architechtural feel. We were able to build the desk, two shelves and a cabinet for the fridge all from two sheets of ply. We painted the walls and ceiling in my favourite shade of green and it feels so cosy in here.

Working in a cupboard might seem odd to some but I genuinely love it. I feel like I’m in the living room but I’m not bothered by the distractions in it because they are all behind me. And best of all, when I’m finished I open the fridge, grab a drink, close the cupboard door and take 5 steps to the couch. No tidying up mess or looking at the computer thinking about what I have to do next.