Collecting workspaces

Recently I’ve had the itch to branch out from my monitor/chair/desk home office setup, shoved into a room corner and optimized for laptop work, into a space more conducive to multi-modal creative work that I could share with my partner.

Nominally, a workspace has to be functional and create the conditions for “good” work. But what does that mean? Should it be bright or dark? Expansive or cozy? Colorful or calm? The right answer depends on who’s working there. What if for me it’s a bright space with a view, and for him it’s cozy and dark? How can this be accomplished so the space is still flexible (a must in an urban home)? It feels like there are too many contradictions, and no concept has made it past the half-baked idea stage.

I watch small-space architecture videos daily. Feeling discouraged, I started revisiting my favorites. I pause the videos, grab screenshots and take notes.

The result is a growing collection of unique small-space solutions: Workspaces in hallways, on staircase landings, in closets, and squeezed between appliances or under other furniture. One is even in a pit beneath the floors (Japanese building codes are, uh, very different from the US). Almost none of these would qualify as a “room,” never mind as an office. But everything is considered, and if that two-inch void between the table and the wall is useful, it gets used.

Going through this exercise, I’m re-approaching my workspace brainstorming with the attitude of “why not here?”. With flexibility and ingenuity, it is possible to create a space that meets our needs without ripping out walls or replacing all the furniture. Nowhere is too small, a workspace can go anywhere a human will fit.

Now it’s just a fun challenge.