The “cloffice.” It’s a trendy little room in which you sit and do whatever trendy thing that only requires a small space. Keeping up with your handwritten correspondence. Knitting. Taking selfies. Taxes. The cloffice is a space for it all.
Cloffice, a mashup of the words closet and office, is the room to have in your home right now and, fortunately, it’s easy (in theory) to create one. All you need is a closet. Or an office. Whatever.
“A cloffice is a dedicated space for a specific activity that does not require having to turn over an entire room in your home for that purpose,” says interior designer Rose Ramseur of Primrose Design in Fairfax.
“It doesn’t necessarily need to be in a closet — it can simply be a smaller, discrete functional space within a larger area.”
When it comes to figuring out which space in your home to turn into the cloffice, Ramseur offers this advice: “It’s important to carve out areas within that room for small spaces designed for crafting, reading, meditating, or working. More and more, clients are asking for multipurpose spaces. These are usually rooms that have to function as offices, guest rooms, closets, and crafting or artwork spaces all in one.”
Ramseur says it is nice to have doors to close off the space, especially if it is not tidy, but doors are not a requirement for your cloffice.
“Having proper furniture to organize is important,” she says.
She recommends erring on the side of function, rather than buying things just because they look cute.
“Here functional furniture is paramount. This space is compact and needs to be able to be organized, so pick furniture that fits the space but can also serve many purposes,” Ramseur says.
“Open shelving is great because it can hold larger items and you can add baskets or small acrylic bins to the shelf for holding smaller items as well.”
When looking for furniture, she recommends a desk or work surface that fits your space and has plenty of storage.
“Closed storage helps keep things tidy. Another important consideration is access to electrical outlets and cord management. You may need to install an outlet for a laptop, desk lamp, and chargers. Be mindful that the cords aren’t too visible by finding furniture that already has grommets included for wire management,” Ramseur says.
Finally, when styling your cloffice, think about your home’s overall design.
“The look should work within the larger design framework of your home. However, they don’t need to necessarily match. If you have a traditional home, you may keep that same style, but punch up the cloffice area design to provide interest or excitement,” she says.
If you’re interested in something bold, there’s no need to redo your entire home.
“For an area that you may associate with work, add color and pattern. This is a good opportunity for a saturated paint color or wallpaper. The color you choose can spark creativity and get your brain ready for the task at hand,” she says.
Feature image by by Robert Radifera for Stylish Productions
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