Should I Put My Desk In The Living Room Or Bedroom?

During the last year many people are unexpectedly have to work from home. This can cause a problem as the home was not set up to accommodate also a home office. And so, many have worked at their dining table or on the couch.
But now it looks like the situation will be more permanent. And many simply need a more permanent home office. And since there is no designated room for it the question for many is: “Should I put my desk in the living room or bedroom?”

Here are some factors that need to be considered when making the decision of putting the home office desk in the living room or bedroom:

• available space in your living room or bedroom
• view when working on your desk
• your desk size
• how often you will work in your home office
• whether you need to welcome colleagues or clients
• whether you need to supervise children
• the equipment you will use

What is a living room and what is a bedroom?

Now I know,many may thing that’s a stupid question to ask. But really to a answer the question where you should put your desk, in your bedroom or living room, largely depends on what you use the room for.

Usually the living room is the largest room in the house. There is where you relax and spend most of the day when you are at home. In most cases the living room is also nearer the entrance of the house. So this makes it easier also to entertain friends and welcome guests.

So the living room is usually the place for all activities during the day.

The bedroom on the other had is the place where you can find rest from your days activities. It needs to be place where you can fully relax without distraction.

If you choose to set up your home office there try to make it in a way to put it out of sight when you are going to sleep. Maybe you use room divider or using a closet that allow you to close the door when you are done working.

But make sure you are a not constantly reminded of your work when you are lying in your bed. The office really should not be the last thing you see when go to sleep and the first ting you open your eyes. That can cause you to not sleeping well and not being able to relax.

Should I put my desk in the living room or bedroom?

Now with this in mind, lets determine what is the best solution for your home office.

Having a good workspace is essential, especially when you are working at home. It is necessary to have a separate work area where it is easier to concentrate and convenient.

That being said, it is clear that you need to have a place for your desk that is designated for your work. That can be either be a small desk in a corner or niche in your home, or a build-in solution somewhere in your home.

So lets consider each aspect to determine what works better for you.

1. Available Space In Your Living Room Or Bedroom

Think about your room situation. Usually the living room is larger than the bedroom and it’s easier to find a small corner or niche for a small office desk.

The bedroom on the other hand usually much smaller and already has much to contain. All your clothes and accessories are store here.

So is there realistically also space for an office desk that you can use every day? Without being so cluttered that you can’t really relax when it’s time to sleep and also work comfortably all day in your new home office.

So when thinking about the available space, image you working on your office all day, every day. Does it make you feel motivated and happy to work there? Or does it make you depressed when cramped into a an already stuffed corner in your home and makes it heard to breath?

That is closely related to the next point to consider when answering the question “Should I put my desk in the living room or bedroom”: The view from your office desk.

See also our article  50 SMALL OFFICE LAYOUT IDEAS FOR YOUR HOME OFFICE and  HOW TO CREATE A HOME OFFICE FOR SMALL SPACES – 7 TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN..

2. The View When Working On Your Desk

Image you are sitting on your new home office desk. What view will you have? Will you look into the room or against a wall? What is right next to your desk?
Will there be lager living room, open space, or will there be a closet with your dresses and underwear and socks?

What will motivate you more to be productive and give your best at work?

This is important to consider. After all you will spend most of your days working there. So the surrounding is important.

That doesn’t mean that your can not work comfortable in your bedroom. It just depends on the size of your bedroom and if you still can breath when sitting in your home office, giving you enough space to concentrate on your job.

3.Your Desk Size

Now this depends on if you are already having a desk you need to use. Then of course you want to consider if your desk fits into the room you have in mind – either the living room or the bedroom.

When checking the size and available space also consider if you have enough space for additional storage. After all you need space for folders, books, and other office utensils.
Also think about other equipment you need in your home office. Most likely you will need a printer. Can you make room for it as well. What about a monitor? If you choose you use one, will it have space on your office desk?

If you do not have enough room for a separate printer table, then your desk will also have to accommodate that, plus a router, and also don’t forget your personal working space!

Regarding the shape of your desk, a rectangular desk will make the best use of restricted space than a round or oval desk. If you have limited room, L-shaped desks make great utilization of space.

If you have not already a desk you want tom use consider a desk that has build in drawers as well as shelves. If space is limited this type of design can be arranged as a corner unit, making maximum use of small space.

This brings us to our forth point.

4. How Often You Will Work In Your Home Office

When determining weather you put your desk in the living room or bedroom an important factor is the time you will spend in your office.

When you plan to work in you home office only temporarily you don’t need much so much space and can live with a smaller corner in your bedroom or living room.

But if you want to use your home office on a daily basis you want to give it more consideration and for sure you need more space. Nobody want o sit in a tight cramped space all day, every day.

5.Do You Need To Welcome Colleagues Or Clients?

This is of course one main aspect when answering the question “Should I put my desk in the living room or bedroom”.

Think about if you really want to welcome colleagues or clients in your bedroom. Even if that is very rare, think about if that thought would make you feel uncomfortable or not. If so, you definitely don’t want to put up your home office in your bedroom.

But also think about if you need to have video conferences. That also is a kind of welcoming your colleagues and clients. What background will you present?
Will they see your bed or closet?

With some video conference tools a zoom you can choose a virtual background to cover he sight. But the quality and stability largely depends on the background. If the background is very close to your back or has different colors, the virtual background will be distorted and still can reveal whats behind you.
Many video conference tool don’t even have tat ability at all. So take that into consideration as well.

6. Do You Need To Supervise Children?

If you plan to supervise your children when working at home, it’s obvious that you want to have them in view.

That requires that you also will think where your children will be and you need to find the space that allows your children to play and/or sleep and you to work comfortably.

If your living room is the bigger room, you might consider finding a place for your home office there. If possible even to have desk that allow you to see the room I stead facing the wall.

In that way you can have everything in view and don’t need to worry you miss something when you are concentrated on your work You will have your child in vie and it gives you more peace of mind and will help you to be more effective in your work as well.

7. The Equipment You Will Use In Your Home Office

We touched on that subject already a little before. Think about all the technical equipment you need to use, such as a monitor, printer, scanner, keyboard, mouse, router and so on.

Not only do you need to find space for all of that in your home office, You also need to have power for it. Of course you can use power cord extensions, but especially in the bedroom sometimes it’s had to find a wall outlet to plug it in.

Also think about the cable you will have. Unfortunately cables have the tendency to love dust. When this is in your bedroom you want to give extra consideration to it as well.

If you have limited space think about reducing the number of gadgets you use. For example can you do without an extra monitor, just using your laptop? Or if you need a printer and scanner, try to find a combined equipment. That will n ot only save space but also cable.

A good solution is also a wireless printer and scanner combination. That will give you the freedom to put your printer anywhere in the room without cluttering your work desk and having to deal with excessive cables.

Conclusion

So to answer the question “Should I put my desk in the living room or bedroom?” largely depends on your personal circumstances and possibilities.
But for most, finding a space in your living room might be the better choice when you consider the points above.

If you don’t like the idea to see your office work when you try to relax in your living room, try to separate the office desk in some way. Maybe you can choose a room divider or make sure you clean up your desk completely after your work is done. Many helpful tips you can find in the article  THE CLEAN DESK POLICY INCREASE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF YOUR HOME OFFICE

On the other had you might like the idea that you can hide your office in the bedroom – out of sight when you get visitors. But really think about all the disadvantages it may have as well.

But the most important aspect is : What will help you to work efficiently in your home office. After all this will be your work place. And although working from home has many benefits, is also have it’s downsides. One just is that you actually have your office at home. But with applying a few tips you can make it a success and enjoy your home office as well.

We are curious how you have answered the question “Should I put my desk in the living room or bedroom?” for your self and what solution you have found practical. Please leave a comment below.