Storage-Smart Family Office

To maintain organization in your office, keep important documents together, properly labeled, and easily accessible. Install open shelving on an entire wall and place organizational containers strategically, keeping the ones you'll need most frequently at arm's reach and lesser used items up higher.

Instead of buying a custom-built desk, build your own. To make a small room live bigger, designate an entire wall to be your desk area. Install sliding shelves to keep your printer, scanner, and paper products out of sight. Consider finishing your desk with privacy curtains to disguise what's under your desk.

Rather than shoving your desk against a wall, make use of its every dimension. This stylish yet functional combination creates both a room divider and a three-sided storage solution with space for exposed media items and works of arts.

A mix of magazines, books, and media can look cluttered if jumbled on a shelf. Streamline the presentation by concealing them in containers or behind fabric panels.

Try leveraging a closet to create an efficient yet incognito work space. Reposition shelving to make room for files, computer equipment, and reference books. The best part? When work is done, hide the office behind closed doors.

If you have the room, incorporate separate work stations into your office. Keep your computer equipment in one area, and make a work space at another desk.

Think like a chef and store the items you're most likely to use at arm's reach. Reserve high shelves for books that see less action and low shelves for heavier books. Your library is an intimate reflection of your personality, so intersperse with photos, artwork, or other interesting items for a personal display.

Before designing your office, evaluate how it will be used. If you need lots of open space to spread out your work, incorporate a large desk into your design. Make a desk like this using two sawhorses topped with a thick sheet of plywood.

If space is at a premium (which it likely is), save room by stacking some books horizontally rather than vertically. Titles are a little more difficult to read when stacked this way, but the approach adds visual interest and creates a place to perch a collectible or two.

Turn a small space into an automatic office in three simple steps. Convert a small dining room table into a desk, hang magnetic shelves, and use storage containers to keep things organized.

Use basics found around your house to create a storage-packed office. Top a table with an easy-to-assemble storage unit and trim with crown molding. Keep your office essentials in small purchased boxes and store other important paperwork in file cabinets.

It's simple to store hardback books on bookshelves, but it's even easier to store compact paperbacks in handy wicker baskets. Baskets also give you the convenience of storing other small items in them all while creating a clean, organized look.

Anytime you've exhausted your horizontal storage space, just look up! Chances are you have ample room to build vertically. Additional shelves and cubbies secured on top of a desk allow for extra baskets, display items, and picture frames to perch openly.