Here's our best tips for creating a home office in a living room, or how to make a home office in a small space, small room or small apartment.
(Center) Gus* Modern Tobias Walnut / Black 22'' Wide Rectangular End Table and (Right) Modloft Finsbury Walnut and Almond 82'' Wide Round Coffee Table
Though remote work from home did not begin during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has certainly ramped up in recent months. A recent article from Bloomberg Quint found that in May the number of Americans working from home was high at nearly 40%. The article also found that this number had dropped in the following months. The drop was chalked up to a lukewarm “return to normal.” However, in October the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the rate at which work from home had been dropping had begun to slow. As we enter the winter months, the number of Americans working from home might increase once more -- especially if renewed lockdowns occur. Even if the majority of Americans shift back to in-office work part-time, experts believe the majority of those who can will work from home. They are expected to do so one or more days per week.
This is expected to continue far beyond the pandemic. Unfortunately, fighting for space -- amongst children, spouses and housemates -- can make it difficult to function productively during the workday. Furthermore, lack of appropriate office supplies -- and furniture -- can make your living or bedroom feel too much like a space to relax. This can lure you away from work mentally. Several surveys have shown that -- indeed -- the majority of those working from home are doing so in a shared space. The most common of these spaces might be the living room or den, where furniture is not exactly up to par for remote work. If you plan to work from your couch, you will likely be crouching over a coffee table or leaning over to an end table. To mitigate these harmful habits, follow below for a few tips. Our Living Room Tables Buying Guide will help you find the best end tables for remote work. It will also help you choose pieces that are perfect for relaxing around after the workday has ended!
(Right) Interlude Home Bella Grey Pouf, Available through TopModern
Working on your laptop from your coffee table might tempt you to abandon the couch in favor of the floor. Sitting on the floor will align your body more properly with the short height of the table. However, sitting on the floor -- especially laminate, ceramic tile or hardwood -- can be hard on your body. The floor also offers very little support and absolutely no direction. This encourages your spine to curve and tilt forwards, harming the health of your neck and back. Instead, consider purchasing a pouf -- or a few poufs -- to make your work-from-floor experience more pleasant and more conducive to productive work flow.
Poufs are typically round cushions -- made from leather, suede or upholstery and stuffed with batting, feathers or another type of filling. They can adjust the seater’s posture -- in a positive way -- by encouraging your hips to settle into a more natural position. Raising one’s hips ever so slightly can take a lot of pressure off your lower back, encouraging the body to sit up straight. This in turn removes pressure from other areas -- including your neck and head. Poufs will also offer additional seating when life returns to normal and homes become social spaces once more! A low ottoman can also be used, so try not to count those out!
(Left) Pianca Abaco Piombo Matt / Lavagna Round Coffee Table (Center) Temahome Slate Pure White 35'' Wide Square Coffee Table and (Right) Sunpan Modern Home Artezia Grey / Gold 47'' Wide Rectangular Console Table, all from TopModern
A multi-level coffee table or a console table with open shelving will allow you to work in a more ergonomically-correct manner. Chances are -- if you work from home without a formal office space -- you will be using a laptop rather than a desktop computer. Laptops are -- while lightweight and easy to transport -- poorly suited to maintaining the health of one’s spine. The way laptops are designed -- with the keyboard directly perpendicular to the screen -- is improper for spinal health. This is because their design allows them to be portable but does not allow them to support proper posture. Users are forced to choose between two unhealthy options. Users can crane their necks and slouch towards their screen. Their other choice is to elevate their laptop and put pressure on their wrists and fingers.
The best option for your body when working in front of a computer is to have the screen median at eye level. You should also have the keyboard closer to the natural resting place of your hands while seated. Laptops cannot offer the ergonomic support that desktop computers do. Forcing your hands up towards your shoulders is uncomfortable -- and painful if repeated day in and day out. Similarly, angling your neck down to view the screen when your wrists are against the keyboard can cause your shoulders to roll forward. This can knot your back and neck muscles. Working from one’s living room will allow even less flexibility as far as ergonomic support goes. As such, it is important to be as versatile as possible -- even if it looks unusual -- when approaching the situation.
To mitigate damage and create a more ergonomically healthy work situation in your living room, consider a multi level coffee table. You might also consider a console table with shelving or a coffee table with an open drawer. For each of these options, try connecting a separate keyboard to your laptop -- via Bluetooth or USB. This way you will be able to place the keyboard on a lower level while you place your laptop above on the higher level.
(Left) Unique Furniture 200 Collection White Laptop Stand Desk, from TopModern
You may have fallen in love with a different type of table than those listed above in the “multi-level table” section. If this is so, you might think you have hit a dead end. Fortunately, this is not the case! You can retrofit practically any type of low-height table with a standing desk or adjustable laptop stand. Any type of platform will help you reorient yourself and improve your posture when working from a low table. However, adjustable laptop stands make this even easier! Elevating your laptop -- or even your desktop -- will help you sit up straighter. This -- in turn -- will take pressure off your neck, lower back and muscles. The adjustable laptop stand pictured above offers users a keyboard tray and table holder groove -- making it perfect for practically every type of device.
(Left) Sunpan Modern Home Artezia Umber Brown / Gold 23'' Wide Rectangular End Table (Center) Sunpan Modern Home Solterra Grey / Antique Brass 11'' Wide Rectangular End Table (Right) Sunpan Modern Home Artezia Charcoal Grey / Black 23'' Wide Rectangular End Table, All from TopModern
Working from the sofa is never ideal, but with the right end table, you can be productive and healthy. C-Shaped end tables are one of the best choices because -- while they rarely offer significant table space -- they take up very little space. Consider one of the three glamorous -- yet industrial-inspired -- pieces pictured above. Each is available through TopModern!
(Left and Right) Caracole Modern Streamline Aged Bourbon 30''W x 22''D Rectangular Waterfall End Table
U-shaped end tables offer a unique element uncommon of many other end tables and coffee tables. They offer the option to tuck your legs beneath without taking up too much space. We love the Caracole Modern Streamline Aged Bourbon Rectangular Waterfall End Table pictured above because it is wide enough to put your legs under. It is also tall enough to comfortably work from and slender enough to fit between the couch and coffee table!
(Left) Bungalow 5 Morgan Natural 45''W x 12''D Rectangular Console Table (Center) Caracole Classic Espresso Bean / Gold Bullion 78''W x 14''D Rectangular Console Table (Right) Caracole Classic Whisper of Gold 82''W x 12''D Rectangular Console Table, All three are available through TopModern
Console tables are designed to rest behind a couch or against a wall similarly to the way a credenza would. These types of tables offer more height than end or coffee tables do. However, they tend to be just as slender. They typically vary from credenzas in that they have a distinct tabletop and spindled or separated legs. This is in contrast to the way a full sideboard or solid credenza would function. Our favorite work-from-home console tables are those with built-in shelves or open drawers.
This is so due to the reasons listed above in the “How to Make a Coffee Table Function” segment of this Buying Guide. Consider the Bungalow 5 Morgan Natural 45''W x 12''D Rectangular Console Table. This console table offers a “soft closing glide” drawer perfect for storing work papers. We also love the Caracole Classic Espresso Bean / Gold Bullion 78''W x 14''D Rectangular Console Table, with its brass ferrules. Another of our favorites is the Caracole Classic Whisper of Gold 82''W x 12''D Rectangular Console Table with its couch-accommodating height. All three are available through TopModern for all your living room remote-work needs!
(Center) Sunpan Modern Home Black / Antique Brass 15'' Wide Round Nesting Table and (Right) Modloft Adelphi Black Crocco Reclaimed Leather 36'' Wide Round Nesting Table, Both from TopModern
Nesting tables are one of the most optimal choices for living room remote work as they offer variable surface heights. As mentioned above, having variable heights from which to work is more ergonomic and healthier for the body overall. This should typically include a lower surface for a keyboard and a higher surface for a monitor or laptop. Given these needs, nesting tables are an excellent choice! Nesting tables are skinny enough to take up very little space when in use and during storage. This is especially true given that they stack underneath and on top of each other. Our choices include the Sunpan Modern Home Black / Antique Brass 15'' Wide Round Nesting Table. They also include the Modloft Adelphi Black Crocco Reclaimed Leather 36'' Wide Round Nesting Table. Place a set of nesting tables next to your couch as end tables. You can also add them to an entryway. Lastly, you might consider using nesting tables as a functional but attractive bar cart when not in use for remote work!
By following our tips and tricks for optimizing living room tables, you too can turn your living room into a remote work space. Furthermore, you can create a workspace that easily doubles as a great entertainment room!
