The concept of the home office is evolving. Years ago you needed a full-sized room to house all your workspace necessities. Today technology allows us to do much more with much less, so the space required has reduced as well.

“Pocket” offices have become a new home trend in recent years. These compact spaces take up less room than their predecessors, typically about half the size. An efficiently designed and well organized space will be much more functional and allow the homeowners to optimize the space in their home.

Below are three different pocket offices we created in our homes and their approximate dimensions:

The Bellaire – 7′ x 6′

A wall of open shelving in this office gives plenty of storage space for books, binders and more. The shelving creates an “L” shape workspace that utilizes 2 walls in the room.

The Avalon – 6.5′ x 6′

Floating shelves utilize the space above this built-in desk area. Cabinet drawers give plenty of space for bills or other necessary files.  Desk-height outlets make plugging in electronics on the easier than fishing cords down below.

The Thornberry – 8′-10.5′ x 8.5′

It’s is larger than the other two, but this office is still relatively small considering it can accommodate more than one person. This layout has two workspaces, each with its own drawer and cabinet. It allows two people to easily work side-by-side in the same space without feeling on top of each other.

All three of these designs include a window. This brings in natural light to the space which makes it feel bigger and less like a closet. Working in a stuffy area can be a drag, so having a view available is a great way to stay motivated.

They also include pocket doors to close the space off from the rest of the home.  This is nice when using the space to help limit distractions and also to close off the space when it’s not in use.