Home Offices from Closets

As many people who work and have hobbies from home, I know that having a separate space is vital. In smaller homes or apartments, having a room that can perform multiple tasks provides added functionality and is a real bonus. One way to make a guest or spare bedroom perform extra duty is to turn a closet in an extra room into an office or workspace. While finding a closet that isn't already full can be a challenge--once you've got your closet picked out--it's relatively easy to turn it into an office.

Let's get started:

1. Clear out your closet. Start with the doors and remove them along with the hinges or tracks and any hanging bars that are built in.

2. Fill in and repair the holes left behind, smooth with sandpaper, paint the wall and paint a piece of plywood for the desktop.

3. Measure the depth of your closet on both sides, as well as the width across the back.

4. Layout the measurements for your desktop on the sheet of plywood and cut it out.

5. Measure up 29 to 30 inches from the floor on all three walls and mark the height.

6. Install 1-by-2 inch cleats, 5/8 inches below where you want your desktop to sit.

7. Lay your cut-to-fit desktop on top of the cleats and fasten it in place with screws down into the cleats.

8. Finish off your desktop by installing quarter-round trim around the edges of the desktop using small nails, then fill in the holes to cover up any gaps to give your new office desk a nice finished appearance.
9. Now it's time to organize and accessorize!