New home office? Part 1
One thing that changed this last year was that I set up my Etsy business. I'm really loving it and my orders are growing by the day. However I have very quickly outgrown my original desk which I only set up December 2019 for my laptop to sit on. In 2020 obviously I needed to work from home so it got a PC and monitor, then it got a printer, then the Silhouette, then the cutter. It just wasn't factored in when I bought the desk! I have taken over a corner of the living room which in a small open plan townhouse isn't alot of space and looks very messy.
Generally I take my product photos on the floor which is less than ideal. As you can see I have zero work space and usually have to move my keyboard to use that small area to cut on. My Silhouette is stacked on top of my printer which makes printing hard. And my guillotine is actually hanging off the back of that shelf which given how heavy it is is less than safe! the shelves are all open making it look super messy even though I only just organised it. There is just literally no where else to put everything....
As I rent I have a few options. I also have to consider that my computer is plugged in via a cable to the modem so the cable will have to go where it goes. I think that no matter what it will have to be taped across the floor somewhere.
1. I can move it to my bedroom which I only sleep in so alot of the space goes unused but honestly I don't think it will all fit anyway.
2. I can move my son into my room and use his room as my office. Not too keen to do this because it would give me no privacy and I think its good for him to have his own space even though he also only sleeps in there and plays in the main room usually.
3. I can make the garage my office. It has internal access and is actually a very decent size and its a fairly new house so its clean and nice. Draw back here is trying to get the internet in there and also temperature control would be alot harder.
4. Keep it where it is and just deal with it taking over the house.
Honestly options 3 and 4 are the main two. I am going to get a second desk to use as a work station. Surprisingly my stock storage all fits into a tiny tub on my desk. Its everything else thats taking up the space. My design and printing areas.
So of course I went to pinterest to find some ideas.
This is my current situation, lol. Its not as bad as it looks, really! In there is my dryer so the pile of clothes are actually clean and waiting to be folded. The hutch right in front of the door is actually my craft hutch, then behind that are two shelving units that hold my wood working things. On the far wall is a bag of wood scraps and Rues ikea kitchen which I think he is much too old for now but he says not so we will see if that gets handed down. Next to the dryer is another shelving unit which has plastic tubs on it. That's it. So its actually not that crowded it just looks that way. My idea is to use that far wall as my office. Throw a rug down, some lamps and a picture maybe. However as I said its not ideal as I have no idea how to get the internet cable in there and my computer doesn't have wifi. I could upgrade my PC as it was a free one from my brother in law but then I have to re install everything and that's a pain.
Should I decide this is a no go my alternative is option 4 which is to leave it all where it is and just add another work surface. Its a temporary solution because I would be taking up half of my loungeroom but it also means I'm still in the house with my son and can watch him play xbox (he is very clever on it and knows how to do things he shouldn't haha). I'm thinking an L shape as I already have but with an additional table to either replace the one I currently have and use it under the window or nearly completely block out the window with the new one. I will have to set it up and see how it fits. Would be ideal if the window wasn't there but I have to work with what I have.
I am very open to ideas at this stage as really there is no ideal solution...I will write another post when I get the new table and see if we can work it out!
