Building a Closet Office in Five Steps

It’s always been important for me to have my own space and feel in control of my environment. I think it’s especially important for writers to feel like they have a space to work, even if, like me, you end up writing on the couch while your husband watches Netflix, anyway.My family has moved around a lot over the last year and half, but we were finally placed in a town we love and want to stay in. The only issue is we’re in rental housing provided by P Charm’s work which makes nesting a little more difficult. We don’t have the extra rooms and my writing things (notebooks, bulletin boards, books, resources etc) were beginning to take up permanent residence on my kitchen table. My things were scattered and my brain felt the same way.This is when I took to Pinterest.There I discovered the closet office.I scrolled through hundreds of images for intricate and beautiful ideas that my handy-skill level could never handle. If you’ve ever been on Pinterest, you’ll know the feeling of crafty-inadequacy I felt…I also felt it was all a bit too permanent.My situation was a little different being a renter and I made a lot of excuses that some of you may have made, or are making right now.I’m too busy with my toddler.This isn’t even my house.I’m not fricken Martha Stewart…Once I actually sat down and tried to design something with my strengths and limitations, it was surprisingly simple.My criteria for my closet wasstorageandremove-ability.The nice thing about a closet is it’s mostly built for storage so very few modifications were necessary to go from junk to office.Supply List1 – five foot length of 1 inch Pine(for a four foot wide closet. Be sure to measure and adjust accordingly)2 – heavy duty L brackets4 – five inch L bracketsBox of drywall screwsBox of three inch wood screwsQuart of stain or paint and brushRoll of decalsTools neededCircular or Table Saw(If you don’t have one, can’t use one, or are otherwise terrified of removing un-removable appendages, most hardware stores will cut the wood for you)DrillMeasuring tapelevelStep one:Clear out closet and clean it.Step two:Measure the closet. Check to make sure it’s wide and deep enough for a desk. Keep in mind ergonomics such as how you sit, how you type, how high off the ground you should be. I measured the height of an actual desk to reference how high my L brackets needed to be.Step three:Cut your board to the right size and save the scrap chunk to make some shelves. If your board is precut or already at the exact length needed, shelves can be purchased separately.Step four:Paint or stain your wood.Step five:Mount large L brackets by finding studs or corner joints in your closet with drill bit and screws. My closet didn’t have studs, so the L brackets are right against the wall. Also keep in mind that any desk over four feet in length should have a third brace in the middle or run a strip of 2x4 along the back of the closet to keep the desk from bowing.ShelvesStep one:Cut scrap board lengthwise to create two shallow shelves.Step two:Level and mount with 5 inch L bracketsFinal step:DECORATE!Because I am in rental housing I decided to get a roll of stick-on-decals to make the closet look a little less like a closet. I mounted the decals, shelves, two bulletin boards and a calendar to take up maximum amount of wall space so painting or wallpapering became unnecessary. I salvaged everything else. An old crate and a kitchen organizer for under the desk storage. Mason jars for my pens/pencils. An old lamp I rummaged from the basement.If this is your own house the possibilities are endless. Wallpaper, paint, chalkboard paint, fabric, cork board…there are so many ways to make the wall space integrated into the office space to make it beautiful, useful, or both!GET CREATIVE!Join the Quirks and Commas Newsletter for more writing and design tips!