From cluttered wardrobe to clever workspace – see mum's £60 'cloffice' transformation
A closet into a clever desk space, now that's what you call smart thinking
Are you lacking space to create the perfect home office? This savvy mum's makeover might just make you think again. The clever mum turned a cluttered closet into a wondrous workspace for her daughters, for just £60.
Veronica Sweeney-Bird, 36, from Tunbridge Wells, wanted to create a functional, space-saving workspace for her two daughters, Ziva, nine, and Tali, seven. But knew it wouldn't work in their current rooms, so she had to think outside the box.
Inspired by Pinterest 'cloffice', aka closet office, ideas she decided to declutter a chaotic cluttered cupboard at home and transform it into a home office.
More ingenious small spaces: Mum transforms space under her stairs into serene 'Mum cave' for only £17
Veronica's wardrobe before
Marie Kondo would not be pleased with the cluttered cupboard before Veronica got to work.
'My children had asked if they could have a desk each but unfortunately that wasn't possible in their rooms. So I figured if I could shift things around in the wardrobe I'd be able to make something for them that could be hidden away, when not used, and wouldn't take up precious floor space.'
She goes on to explain, 'I had a look on Pinterest and came across lots of ideas for a 'cloffice'. And decided, as I rent, that putting up a desk shelf with brackets would be the easiest way of doing it that would make taking it down and turning the space back into a closet easiest with minimal fixing, just plugging up holes.'
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Such smart thinking from this savvy mum.
Veronica wisely shopped at B&Q, Poundland and The Range to keep costs low.
Veronica's new 'Cloffice' wardrobe after
Explaining how she went about it Veronic says, 'I had a look at materials others had used, measured the space and had a look in B&Q. I decided upon buying a semi edged chipboard, the kind usually used to build wardrobes, as it meant I wouldn't need to treat the surface.'
'I bought three shelf brackets – the ones I chose are aesthetically pleasing, but you can get less expensive ones.'
'I then painted the space with white paint, I already had, and found a sample pot of grey Valspar paint for 50p in the bargain basket'.
'I furnished the space with Poundland pegboards and accessories, and stools from The Range. I customised some storage boxes from Poundland with Fablon I had left over from a different project.' The girls had the rest of the accessories in their room already.
'In total making this 'cloffice' came to about £60 and my kids love it!'
’Anyone who works from home will dream of an office that functions when they need it but that is tucked far away from sight,’ remarks Tom Church, co-founder of Latest Deals. ‘Veronica’s genius closet office is an ideal workspace and I’m really impressed that it cost just £60 to make. Her girls are very lucky!’
Related: Savvy mum transforms her bathroom for less than £100 with stunning vinyl flooring
Another lovely result of the 'cloffice' is Veronica donating the outgrown clothes in the original cupboard to people through Facebook. A very charitable and worthwhile bonus.
Tamara was Ideal Home's Digital Editor before joining the Woman & Home team in 2022. She has spent the last 15 years working with the style teams at Country Homes & Interiors and Ideal Home, both now at Future PLC. It’s with these award wining interiors teams that she's honed her skills and passion for shopping, styling and writing. Tamara is always ahead of the curve when it comes to interiors trends – and is great at seeking out designer dupes on the high street.
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