Making Space for My Husband’s Stuff: Part 2

Moving in with your partner is a major life event, and one Minima has helped many clients sort through! It can be especially challenging when one partner moves into the other’s pre-existing home (versus buying a new place together). I have lived in my 1020 square foot home in the Fan since 2013 and lived here alone from 2017 until my husband moved in 2021. That square footage often felt palatial for just me. Things didn’t feel so spacious when I began to consider fitting my husband’s clothing into the bedroom or sharing my small home office with him since we both work from home.

This Journal post will share how we made space for his stuff in my old home office (now our shared home office) without sacrificing design. While most couples may not be as minimalist as Jonathan and I, there are some great storage and space planning tips I hope will provide inspiration. To read about how we made space for his stuff in my old bedroom (now our shared bedroom), check out “Making Space for My Husband’s Stuff: Part 1”.

Photo credit Mindie Ballard

The space before

The home office is 9’3” x 13’6”. When I lived here alone, I had my desk against the wall and IKEA’s GALANT cabinet with sliding doors to store office supplies, some household cleaning supplies, and bunny supplies (they live in this room too).

The Challenge

I should preface this story by sharing that my husband and I both work from home full time. His work went remote during the pandemic and has stayed that way since. As the owner of Minima, 90% of my work is done from home, while my team of professional organizers works in-person with our clients.

Our home has two bedrooms, one bath, with an open concept first floor. The home office (second bedroom) does not have a closet. The options for where to put my husband’s workspace were pretty limited. After exploring all the options—renting a co-working space, desk in the bedroom, desk on the first floor—we decided sharing the home office was the best option for us. We wanted work to feel like a separate space so it didn’t distract us when we were trying to relax or sleep. Creating these boundaries is very important for those of us who work from home.

Adding a second desk

Before my husband moved in, I sketched out different options to make space for a second desk. The room is so narrow, so it was tough. I explored everything from side by side, to opposite walls, but nothing seemed to work until I finally landed on the solution to have the desks face to face with a screen between us.

We still use IKEA’s GALANT cabinet with sliding doors for all of our storage needs. Fortunately he didn’t have much in terms of office supplies other than his laptop and a few charging cables. We purchased the ELLOVEN monitor stand with drawer for a few of his essentials. We each have a BEKANT height adjustable desk (55” wide x 24” deep) and matching Aeron chairs. IKEA’s EILIF screen divides our desks. His desk is at a higher setting (he’s 5’9”) while my desk is at the lowest setting (I’m just under 5’3”). Between the height adjustable desks and the ergonomic Aeron chairs (yes, they are life changing and totally worth it), we’ve both been very comfortable!

Sharing the Home Office

We’ve actually really enjoyed sharing a home office. We get to hang out all day and the bunnies get constant attention and companionship since we’re in there with them. It’s a really nice vibe; productive yet fun and warm. We occasionally have calls, but the only time it’s an issue is if we both have a call at the same time. In those rare instances, my husband takes his laptop to the dining table until my call is done (I have an iMac, which is not mobile). We always use our AirPods to minimize disruption from calls and we each have noise cancelling headphones when needed.

We’re moving to a larger home in the Fan next week (!!!) and believe it or not, we are choosing to continue sharing the home office even though we don’t have to. The new home office will be much larger with more space for the bunnies to play. That has been the only downside of our current set up—sometimes we feel like we’re on top of the bunny’s play space.

Thinking outside the box and finding new ways to make space has kept this room functional and fun for me and my husband. We love it! If you need some help merging spaces with your partner, please reach out here.