Sharing one of the very first home office designs I created for a client, who had asked me to convert the roofdeck space of his townhouse into a home office for his small PR team of four.
Low-budget home office design ideas
My client had a minimal budget for this home office, as there was no major renovation done. We only repainted some walls and added a divider made from powder-coated aluminum to separate the pantry sink from the work area. We also customized desks for his staff made from filing cabinets and wood planks.
Home office BEFORE shots
They had already spent on renovating the roof deck, by enclosing a portion of it and adding a bathroom and sliding doors. So the budget we were to set aside were mainly for furnishings and partitions to complete the upstairs home office.
While a toilet and bath was already in place, there was also a utility sink that client wanted to be turned into their office pantry.
It was a tight space for sure, because we needed to accommodate space for four desks, as well as an indoor conference area and an outdoor “cafe” style area.
Preferred home office style: "Cafe industrial"
Since my client and his team were used to working either in fast food restaurants or cafés, he wanted his home office to have the look and feel of a café, particularly those industrial-style, third-wave coffee shops.
He also gave a few examples of the cafes and restaurants they often worked from, and whose looks they liked. So we used those as our inspiration jump-off point, and recreated the look of these establishments into a “cafe-industrial” home office design.
Would you believe I created this floor plan and furniture layout out of Adobe Indesign? Back then, I didn’t know yet how to use SketchUp, and neither did we have the convenience of having our project management portal and online 3D visualizer, Mydoma Studio, which we now use in all our eDesign services.
Indoor meeting room in home office
Here is the indoor meeting room where my clients planned to meet clients and his team. The table and chairs were already sourced by the client himself, so we simply tried to make the eclectic mix work with the other furniture pieces, fixtures, and decor.
The “brick wall” is actually a wallpapered highlight, and the wooden floating shelves are from Wilcon Home Essentials. The drop lamp is from Vintage Hardware.
Wire metal grid and baskets from Wilcon Depot. Wooden trolley is from Furniture Source, which houses my client’s collection of broadsheets and office supplies.
Home office pantry and desk space for four
Walls here were painted chalkboard black (which we made with flat black paint mixed with grout) to camouflage the unsightly uneven lines (courtesy of the previous contractor). Wooden pendant lamp from Mandaue Foam. Shelves from Wilcon Depot. Dish rack, utensils holder, and bar stools from Ikea (c/o Furniture Source).
Desk customized from wood planks from Matwood (available at Wilcon Depot), and black filing cabinets from National Book Store. Wooden clipboards from National Book Store. Chairs sourced by owner.
Useful wall accents, lighting, and home office decor
One side of the home office has a magnet board from Ikea that can be used for notes and reminders, as well as a vintage school-look clock from Wilcon Home Essentials. Cage lamps were from Vintage Hardware Manila.
These hanging clipboards act as more than just decor on the walls; they can also be used by this home office-based PR team to place newspaper or magazine clippings for their work.
I provided a dropleaf table here that my client and his staff can use to shoot products for their publications. The twin rollup shades also act as a plain white backdrop solely for this purpose. Dropleaf table from Ikea (Furniture Source). Twin roller shades (sunscreen + blackout) from ABC Decor.
That’s it! Hope you liked this mini tour!
All AFTER shots taken by Toto Labrador.
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