Combining a Home Office and a Nursery

Today’s Guest Blog Post is by Heather Flett one of the co-founders of RookieMoms.com!

My family is expecting a new baby in less than two months. Since this child will be our third, we are fairly pressed for space before he even joins our home.  Yikes!

See that amazing nursery? Get real! We don’t have space or budget for that.

My older two sons share a bedroom with bunk beds. Once the littlest guy is old enough, we hope that he can squeeze in with his brothers. Currently our extra “bedroom” does double duty as a guest room and home office where I work.  The current plan is to transform the office-slash-guest room into an office-slash-nursery. During the baby’s infancy, we’ll simply stop hosting guests that don’t like to sleep on our living room floor in sleeping bags.

This is an exciting yet daunting challenge for my inner organizer.

What are the challenges of introducing a nursery within my workspace? Here are five that are keeping me up at night (when pregnancy-related discomfort is not):

1. Separating items by function
2. Keeping baby gear and toys accessible
3. Storing office supplies in a safe place
4. Creating a pleasant sleep environment for baby
5. Streamlining the work space so it can be used during different times of day

What are some  solutions?

• Contain the stuff. We have a large system of cubbies on one wall that can be used for office and baby gear. We will color-code the compartments for easy recognition.
• Categorize by type. Toys will be kept on a low cubby that a crawling baby can access. Diaper change tools will be on an adult’s level.
• Make the sleep space cozy. We will put the crib in a corner; install black-out shades and a dimmer switch to create appropriate sleeping conditions; and use a white noise machine to mask outside noises. I have some cute wall decals that I will put above the baby’s crib to demark that area of the room as just his.
• Invent a portable home office. Odds are that most of my work will be done during naps when the main office is off-limits. I use a laptop for most of my work so I will create a small travelling grid tote to carry other often-used supplies.
• Secure dangerous items. Office supplies and files will be kept in locked cabinets and high nooks.
• Use deep storage. Finally, anything that is not frequently accessed for either baby or work will be stored on a high closet shelf or in the backyard shed.

I am excited to welcome a new family member into our home and hope that these tasks optimize our living space.

QUESTION: Let us know if you have any other ideas to help me with this tight space scenario?

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Let’s face it, you can’t always have a dedicated room for everything. Your solution is  Closet Factory. A professional designer well help you create an organized dual space for a home office and guest room space, a media room with organized kids stuff!

Check out our most recent Guest Blogger Post by Elka Karl, Editor of CasaSugar : Migrating Two Closets into One.