DIY Cloffice Ideas: Walk In Closet Home Office Design
Want to turn your walk in closet into an office? This is the post for you! Today I’m so excited to reveal my DIY cloffice and share closet office ideas for a small space.
Previously, I had a cozy office nook in the corner of our bedroom. However, I wanted to create a dedicated workspace in our bedroom closet, where I could have an entire room (albeit small) to myself.
In addition, I knew it would be nice to close the closet doors at the end of the day, rather than having my office setup in the bedroom.
If you need a home office for remote work and are looking for cloffice ideas, I hope you find this post helpful! I will be sharing how I turned my walk in closet into an office, as well as interior design ideas for a closet home office.
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How to Turn a Walk in Closet into a Home Office
There are many reasons why you may want to convert your walk in closet into a home office. Most importantly, having a designated space for your desk helps maintain work-life balance.
Here are the steps I took to turn our closet into an office! This is a relatively simple DIY project that you can complete in a few days. For reference, our walk in closet is 57 square feet.
Start with an Empty Closet
To begin, remove clothes and other storage until you have an empty closet. This is a great opportunity to audit your wardrobe and donate unused items.
Related: Wondering where I put our clothes? Check out my IKEA PAX Bedroom Wardrobe Design Ideas and Honest Review.
Remove the Closet Shelf System
Secondly, it is time to remove the existing closet shelf system. We had wire shelving from our builder, which is not my favorite, so I was happy to uninstall it!
If you have similar wire shelves, here is how to remove them.
- Carefully lift and remove the wire shelves from the supports.
- Remove nails (or screws) from the plastic wall brackets using pliers (or a screwdriver).
- Use pliers to remove the plastic brackets from the wall.
Related: Replace Wire Pantry Shelves on a Budget
Patch Holes and Paint Cloffice Walls
Now that you have removed the walk in closet shelves, it is time to patch the walls.
Here are some easy steps to patching nail holes in a wall:
- Use spackling and a putty knife and fill the holes.
- One the spackling has dried, use a fine grit sanding block to smooth it out.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 if needed to make the wall perfectly smooth.
Next, it is time to paint your cloffice walls! I decided to use a muted green, my favorite color for walls. I chose Woodland Sage by Behr paint in eggshell finish.
Swap Out the Overhead Light
Most walk in closets have a ceiling light. You can keep the existing light, or swap it out for something unique for your closet office.
I decided to use a fluted brass flush mount to make a statement. While I love DIY projects, I do not feel comfortable with electrical work, so I hired a handyman to install the light fixture.
Related: Best Flush Mount Ceiling Light Replacements for Boob Lights
Add an Electrical Outlet to a Closet Office
While most of this DIY cloffice project was budget friendly, I did have to bite the bullet and hire an electrician to add an electrical outlet. It wasn’t cheap, but since I planned the room design and did most of the manual labor myself, it was worth it to turn this small space into my designated home office!
We decided to place the outlet in the corner, where my standing desk would be located. It was a lot of work for the electrician to climb into the attic and feed the new electrical wires to the correct spot, but so worth it!
Install Curtains or Blinds in a Cloffice
Finally, if your cloffice has a window, you will want to add curtains, blinds, or shades to help control the natural lighting.
I decided to use a brass curtain rod and plaid curtains, but another stylish option would be a woven wood roman shade. This type of shade can be mounted inside the window frame or above the window.
Related: Viral Amazon Curtains Review: Affordable Pinch Pleat Drapes
Closet Office Ideas for a Desk Area
Once the DIY project portion of my closet office was complete, it was time to add a desk, desk chair, storage space, and cloffice decor!
Cloffice Standing Desk
Personally, I decided to keep the standing desk that was previously in my bedroom office combo.
I love having the option to stand and stretch my legs for part of my work day. This electric sit-to-stand desk is the one that I have! The size is 40 x 24 inches, and it also comes in white and natural wood tone.
Closet Office Traditional Desk
On the other hand, you may prefer a traditional desk with drawers. I will link some stylish options below!
Cloffice Desk Chair
There are so many options for stylish desk chairs. I chose a beige linen upholstered dining chair with wheels so that I can easily roll over to my filing cabinet 😉 Unfortunately my exact chair isn’t currently available, but this one looks almost exactly the same.
On the other hand, you could also use an adjustable desk chair, barrel chair, or other accent chair.
Related: 70+ Best Affordable Accent Chairs for a Living Room
Closet Office Open Shelving
Open shelving is a good idea for a closet office space. Use it for decorative items such as picture frames, or practical items such as jars of paperclips and push pins.
I chose these scalloped floating shelves from Amazon and painted them to match the wall. Here are some more finds:
Wall Art and Decor for Over a Desk
Many people wonder what to hang above a desk for decor. In addition to shelves, here are some closet office wall decor ideas!
- Oversized art
- Gallery wall
- Large mirror
- Wall baskets
- Brass rail with hooks
- Dry erase calendar
- Bulletin board
- Wooden peg board
As for next to the desk, I used these brass accordion hooks and this hanging storage basket with faux florals.
Closet Office Back Wall Decor Ideas
Finally, to complete your small home office desk area, you may wish to create an aesthetic background for video calls and Zoom meetings. I decided to reuse the vintage art gallery wall I designed for my previous office setup.
In addition to the ideas above, you could also use bookshelves styled with your favorite books. Or, style a ladder shelf with decorative objects, if you have enough room behind the desk!
Related: 30+ Best Arched Cabinet and Bookcase Finds
Closet Office Ideas for Storage Space
Next, I wanted to share the storage and organizing solutions I used for my DIY closet office!
Filing Cabinet for Important Documents
For important documents, I decided to place a filing cabinet on one side of the desk. A hanging file system is a great way to keep necessary papers organized.
Sideboard for Home Office Closed Storage
Secondly, I chose a stylish sideboard (the color is Fairfax Oak) to create enough space to store office essentials and some of my favorite books. On top I placed this large French country mirror.
Another option would be to install built-in cabinets! However, if you have the closet space for a sideboard, it is a great idea that is budget friendly.
Related: 30+ Best Rattan Sideboards and Buffets with Cabinet Storage
Here are some more accent cabinets that you may like:
Organized Closet Office Supplies
To keep my office supplies organized within the sideboard, I am using paper storage drawers. Here are some more options for small space office organization!
Home Office To-Do Lists and Calendars
If you would like to display a remote work to-do list or calendar, here are some cute options!
- Acrylic dry erase calendar
- Acrylic dry erase to-do list
- Floral paper memo pad
- Paper roll to-do list
- Rainbow paper to-do list
- Floral weekly calendar pad
- Meal planning paper pad
Cloffice Bulletin Boards
Finally, bulletin boards are a great way to display photos, notes, and other small items in your cloffice. Here are some stylish options:
Light Fixtures Ideas for a Closet Home Office
Good lighting is an important element for office setups at home. Here are some of my favorite cloffice lighting ideas!
Cloffice Wall Sconce Lighting
Wall sconces are one of my go-to lighting options for any space. Not only are wall lights stylish, they are also practical.
For instance, if you are working with a small space in your closet office, you may not want a large table lamp taking up valuable desk space. Wall lighting solves this problem by leaving plenty of room on your tabletop.
While I did not use a wall sconce above my desk, I did use a rechargeable LED picture light over the sideboard. This is the color “gold,” but now they have a “brass” option with a more realistic tone.
It was the perfect place for a battery operated light since there is not an outlet nearby. I do need to recharge it every now and then, but it adds cozy mood lighting to my cloffice!
Closet Office Desk Light
On the other hand, if you have plenty of space to work with on your desk you may choose a small table lamp.
I went with this one for a soft glow in the evening, in case I am finishing up some work. In this case, I am able to plug in the lamp with the new outlet beside my standing desk.
Here are some more mini lamps you may like for a cloffice:
Cloffice Overhead Light
Finally, I already discussed adding an overhead light (or swapping it out for something stylish) in this section.
I would recommend incorporating at least two light fixtures for your closet office in order to have proper lighting. On the other hand, if you have a window in your cloffice, one other light source may be enough for you!
Closet Doors Ideas for a Cloffice
To finish up this post, I wanted to share a few ideas for office closet doors.
I decided to keep the existing door to my walk-in closet turned home office, but this would also be a great spot for a sliding barn door to save space. Or, install French doors for an elegant look.
On the other hand, here is an idea for a reach-in closet office. If you have a small closet, try removing the doors entirely and using curtains instead. The curtain rod could be installed either inside or outside the closet.
This setup keeps your desk easily accessible, but simple to hide out of sight at the end of the work day! I plan to use curtains to hide my entryway closet soon, and will add photos here when I am finished.
DIY Closet Home Office Conclusion
I hope you found this post inspiring if you want to create a perfect work space in your walk in closet!
Having my own compact office has improved my work-life balance and allowed me to fully focus during work hours. In addition, it was so fun to design a unique space that reflects my personal taste.
Do you have a home office closet for remote work? I would love to hear your closet office ideas in the comments below!
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I’m Caitlin.
A creative homebody on a mission! Since 2017, I’ve been dreaming up ways to make our builder grade house feel like home. Blogging every step of the way, my goal is to help you create a space that is cozy and functional. I write about decorating, organizing ideas, and DIY projects, plus occasional gift guides. Grab a cup of tea and let’s make home cozy!
