Before and after: work and storage in one room

Is it a working spot in the pantry? Or a storage room in the office? At first, we didn’t believe it was possible either, but one space can really accommodate both. See how our interior designer Alantė has managed to combine two rooms with completely different functions in one.

Before the renovation

When Aušra and Nerijus started working remotely due to the pandemic, they did not have a separate office at home, so one of them had to move to a storage room. To be more precise, it was actually the former guest room, which has turned into a pantry over time. The area of the room was quite large (almost 15 square meters), but due to the abundance of different items, their desk could only be placed in the very corner. The family had a great desire for change, as their everyday work in the so-called office was distracted by clutter, not to even mention the long and tiring search for necessary items in the pantry.

Challenges and results

Our interior designer Alantė had a challenge of setting up a comfortable, functional, and cosy workspace, as well as creating better (preferably closed) storage for all family belongings. How did she solve it? Have a look.
 

“Pay attention to your working environment. You will spend many hours here every day, thus your space should motivate and inspire instead of making you feel pinned into the corner.” 

Alantė Zubrytė, IKEA interior designer

A home office on one side of the room...

The room that used to look like a pantry, turned into a full-time home office. On the brightest side of the room, by the window, there is a comfortable MULLFJÄLLET conference chair and a desk created by the interior designer herself. She took the EKBACKEN worktop and added for adjustable OLOV legs, simple as that. To tell the truth, anyone can build their own desk from scratch with our desk planner. Just combine different legs and table tops to suit your style.

To provide enough storage space for home office items, Alantė decided to place a roomy KALLAX shelving unit next to the desk and equip it with drawers, boxes, and magazine files. Above the shelving unit, she has placed several SVENSÅS memo boards to create a large cork wall for children's drawings and notes.

With every piece and item neatly sorted, there is even a place in the room left for the family barbecue!