Creating a home office for my entire family.

January 13, 2019 5:57 PM

We are a family of four (two adults, toddler, newborn) and I’d like to use a spare bedroom to create a functional home office/computer space for all of us. Meaning: it would work for remote adult work as well as for eventual homework and computer useage for our kids. How would you set this up? I haven’t found many examples of ways we could create office space for both kids and adults in the same room.
posted by melodykramer to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Response by poster: I think I am looking for both inspiration and ideas for putting this together. We’d like all of our family’s computer usage to be in one space so we can teach our kids how to use the internet safely, and also because we don’t have room for desks in their rooms or elsewhere in the house.
posted by melodykramer at 6:00 PM on January 13, 2019

I don’t have kids, so no experience along that front but use a Cintiq & laptop when I'm working from home and eventually made my self something along the lines of this folding wall desk because I got sick of looking at a table full of crap behind the monitor and wanted to be able to close it up when the work day finished. Maybe one for adults and a lower one for kids?
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:28 PM on January 13, 2019 [3 favorites]

I honestly don't think you should try at this point. Homework is years away and a lot changes in that amount of time, and your kids might, like mine, prefer to work in a different room. Set it up for your current needs and change it as needed.

If you feel you must set it up for everyone now, arrange workspaces to face each other instead of walls. You may want to set up adult desks with child desks directly abutting them. If possible, leave room for comfortable chairs or a couch.
posted by metasarah at 6:32 PM on January 13, 2019 [12 favorites]

Would both adults be working in the office at the same time? Or would the adults be working in there at the same time as one or more of the kids? Something to minimize noise would be helpful in those scenarios (e.g. to take calls, just to think straight).

For the kids, at least, actual desks wouldn't be necessary for several years. A medium-large kid-height table + chairs will get you through a lot of coloring, writing practice worksheets, and much of the rest of early elementary education.

If there is a good source of natural light in the room, make a Comfy Reading Corner! Armchairs, pillows on floor, window seat, etc.
posted by basalganglia at 6:35 PM on January 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

YMMV but our default kids' homework space if they are not in their rooms is in the kitchen, because "kid work time" and "adult work time" overlap way less than "kid work time" and "food preparation time." So with that in mind, I would come up with some ideas that involve storage in your all-family office space, and some room for kids to work, but with elements that are portable. My kids each have a milk crate-type bin where their homework and most-used supplies live.

Ditto electronics: For schoolwork, my younger child uses a tablet more than a computer (they have a math game that they access) and my older uses a laptop, which we move around according to where adults are.

For the space itself, with computers you probably don't want a chalk wall, but you can get whiteboard paint that is pretty awesome and a space for reminders, notes, to practice spelling words, etc. is helpful. Depending on the size of the room, I would probably look at something like a desk with a small loveseat/futon in front of it, with a coffee-sized table in front of that with appropriate kid chairs (and later they will sit on the floor). A lot of my kids' work is reading, and reviewing, so having a couch-like area (or at least an arm chair) is helpful.

If you just want a family friendly desk arrangement, a 't' shape might work.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:19 PM on January 13, 2019 [3 favorites]

My kid is 10. He rarely needs to use a computer. He uses a tablet for some math. He does worksheets at the kitchen table. Ymmv. I like to keep my kid the hell out of my office space.
posted by k8t at 7:52 PM on January 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Mom of two teenagers and a tween here, we have lots of homework happening at our place. Home business stuff as well. Tons of computer, tablet, phone, laptop usage all over the place. I think I can speak to this question with some degree of expertise.


First of all, as far as homework goes: Don't even worry about that yet. Seriously, the technology is changing so quickly. The differences in how my oldest did her homework to how my youngest does his is startling, and it changes every year. By the time your kids are in school and doing homework they might upload things straight from their smartwatches. I'm not even kidding.

So don't plan your home office around any of those eventualities, there is no way to know what could happen. A much better idea is to make a home office that functions well for your remote working and can keep your kids entertained quietly. I'm picturing something that you could have in there to occupy the kids while you need to make phone calls or do other things and keep them distracted. Special art supplies and quiet toys they're only allowed to play with while Mom & Dad are working? Their own "Work Area" where they can do their own thing? Maybe a TV with headphones? That's how I'd look at the space, "How can we set up this office to function as an office while keeping the kids entertained so they'll let us work?"
posted by TooFewShoes at 7:52 PM on January 13, 2019 [7 favorites]

I’ve sort of done this, but with a little art area for my four year old and a work area and big bookshelf for me, plus an IKEA circus tent and space to play. It’s very rare that I work from home while she’s there, but sometimes I pay bills etc. while she colors or plays, and it works fabulously. I would not try to have more than two people using that room for different things at the same time, though - if I really need to concentrate I sometimes do it elsewhere, even.

If we still live here when she’s bigger, she’ll need a bigger desk and it’ll need to be placed so we each have an electrical outlet. That feels manageable, but we’re only one adult and one kid.
posted by centrifugal at 9:08 PM on January 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

We've thought about this issue a lot and I would echo others that you probably shouldn't plan the home office around all 4 of you working at the same time. In our experience, kids' work doesn't really coincide so much with adults' work, so it's not worth making dedicated spaces for all four people. I'd also echo TooFewShoes' point above re keeping the kids entertained.

In any event, I think our home office works pretty well. On one side, we have an L-shaped desk (actually two ikea tables placed perpendicularly); one leg of the L is against the wall (this is where our desktop computer is) and the other side of the L is against the window. On the opposite side we have a long drawer/lateral file cabinet that has a slide out desk surface. On the third wall is a small "apartment-sized" couch that is able to fold out into a queen-sized bed for guests. In the middle of the floor is a kids' size little table with 2 kids' chairs. If multiple people are in the office, what usually happens is one kid is on the couch, one kid is at the table or at one of the desks, and one adult is at the other desk.
posted by odin53 at 8:45 AM on January 14, 2019

Mother of 3 here who also raised her two teen nieces. Like everyone said, don’t plan your office around your kids. Plan it around your needs and your likes. Your kids will naturally not follow any plans you make because Murphy always wins.

My eldest and two nieces just graduated high school. They did homework on their beds, on the floor, in the living room, at school. Rarely did they actually use a desk or the kitchen table. They wanted their own quiet time and would play music or watch tv while they did their homework (mind you they didn’t have the best grades but as the step-mom and aunt I didn’t have much say). They only used the office to write essays and reports because I refused to give them their own laptops. One, the office was in an open area and I can always walk by and see what they are doing. And two, I didn’t trust them on not “accidentally” downloading malware on a personal laptop.

My other two kids are 13 and 10. They get straight A’s. Their schools don’t like giving out a lot of homework. Most of their work done at school was through the chrome books and school approved learning websites for reading, language arts, and math. They both use Google Classroom and turn in all their assignments online. And when they take tests, it’s usually online. At home, I got them Chrome books since that’s what they use in school. They do their home in their rooms, on the couch, or at the table. Hardly ever in my office. In fact, the only time they go in the office is to play online games on the husbands computer since they are not allowed to touch mine (I’m the gamer and ultra sensitive to them messing with my settings).

Moral of the story...my kids rarely used the office as technology today has reduced the redundant and mindless busy work kids in the past were given. So do what works best for you and your spouse.
posted by MamaP47 at 11:33 PM on May 25, 2019