IKEA Home Office Ideas

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Started 2 years ago by terrym2442
Latest reply from diypublic
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terrym2442
Member

Hi all,

I'm about to re-do my home office (nice sized bedroom) using IKEA furniture. Does anyone have any ideas or websites I can look at? The entire length of one wall will have a table top for my computer, projects, etc, and I also need a bunch of filing cabinets, some bookshelves, etc.

The room has a small sofabed and a nice leather recliner already.

Since I have ADHD, I need things to be orgnanized but also visible (out of sight= out of mind).

All suggestions welcomed! Thanks in advance-

Terry

Posted 2 years ago #
Another Deb
Member

I have an office with two Ikea Gallant corner desks, which we love. We also have the Billy bookshelves in a couple of places and have 4 of the small rolling file cabinets that fit under the desks. These files have one drawer for hanging files and three shallow drawers, two of which are hidden by the drawer of the file drawer.

Since we are teachers, the shallow drawers of the file cabinets are nice for all the pens and staplers, etc. I don't much care for them, however, since the files themselves are pretty low, with all four cabinets having only bottom file drawers.

Posted 2 years ago #
Jannarama
Member

Okay, Terry, first thought that came to my mind--have you tried ikea's website? You can get general measurements of the sizes of furniture/shelves you'll need from their website. Perhaps draw it out on paper how you want it to look as well.

IMHO, I wouldn't recommend an entire table top dedicated to your computer and projects. Why? Because if you suffer from FSS (aka Flat Surface Syndrome!), you'll eventually cover the entire tabletop with stacks of things...papers, projects and that'll leave you frustrated because you "knew it was here a minute ago!"

How do I know this? Welcome to MY world! I have ADD. My mom and I share a room (10x12ft) where half of it is her side for her computer armoire, and desk. The other half HAD my 8 foot table in there. I took out that table, which was really collecting things and leaving me less room for working, and put in an architect style desk that has a smaller 'footprint' in the room. I also put up some shelves beside my desk for baskets. I am making use of rolling drawers, and even though it's less space, I feel a lot 'better' because I'm not so overwhelmed by things piling up in there. (I create greeting cards for friends/family.)

Ikea has a 'planner' for offices, kitchens and bedrooms. Have you downloaded & installed that program from their website? http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/IHP08/IKEA_Home_Planner.exe that might help you figure out which pieces would work best in the room. Good luck!

Posted 2 years ago #
MellieTX
Member

I have been pleased with our IKEA Gallant desks- we have two corner desks in opposite corners of the office. We each have one of the rolling small file cabinets Anoter Deb described. I don't mind them so much for being low to the ground- I keep mine just outside the desk and can turn and reach down for the files from my desk chair. We also have several of the ikea shelves (metal bracket on the outside of the wood) scattered around the office walls for books. We placed the small halogen lights under the bookshelves over the desk for extra lighting. I do keep a few books and a magazine file on my desktop but have otherwise been successfully working on keeping it clear for the past few months. The rolling file cabinet serves as a surface for my three-tiered tray, also from IKEA. Love that store!

Posted 2 years ago #
terrym2442
Member

Hi and thanks for the ideas and feedback. I'm playing with the IKEA online planner- that's very cool- but a little hard for me to figure out since I can't seem to put in the furniture I have. But I'm trying.

Good points regarding the piles of paper, but I know I'll have that problem no matter how large or small the table top is. My goal is to set it up with lots of systems (I have ADD so yes, it is tricky!).

Wish I could see pictures of your solutions!

Thanks again!
Terry

Posted 2 years ago #
Vivace
Member

Personally, I love my little office nook, a corner of the living room with a couple of Expedit shelving units and an Expedit desk. The Expedit shelves are nice because the cubby hole effect means I can divide things up without having to use boxes or bins.

Posted 2 years ago #
toberead
Member

Every time I move, or want to rearrange my furniture, I use this floor planning web site: http://www.floorplanner.com. You have to enter all the furniture dimensions yourself, but it's easy to rearrange things and see how different size pieces will fit.

I also prefer things that are organized but visible, and I use a lot of bookcases to organize things. I've also been looking for something like elementary school cubbyholes that I could designate for different projects - if I had enough space, I would line these up at the back of my desk so I could see everything at a glance, but each item would be contained in its own space. Unfortunately, I've had a hard time finding the right size - either they're too small for papers or they're so big that there's a lot of wasted space. The best thing I've found are Closetmaid Cubicals, but even those are a bit too large for me.

Posted 2 years ago #
365lessthings
Member

Hi terrym2442, just one little thought on the out of sight our of mind thing maybe it would help to use big labels on your drawers and cupboards for those things that just can't fit on your desk top so you get a visual reminder of what is hidden away so it is not so out of mind.

Posted 2 years ago #
diypublic
Member

If you have problems trying to organize the clutter of mess in your desk, try to solve this problem by taking slow but precise steps. Organization is a habit that you need to develop and practice overtime. Hence, address little by little. Spend a few weekends trying to arrange your files and furniture. Soon enough, it will become instinctive on your part.

It helps if you have items on hand that will provide accessible means toward organization. For example, secure a trash bin near your desk so you can have some place to throw any paper files or documents that you no longer will be using. Also, clear your desk to leave enough space for you to do your work. You will soon realize how convenient it is for you while doing work.

Posted 4 months ago #

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