
The best cloffice ideas are simple, but can have a big impact on your small space: Optimize your lighting, add a chalkboard wall, and implement creative organization to make your workspace fun and functional.
If you’re new to this idea, cloffices are home offices set up inside a closet or nook of your home. Because they are a recent trend in home office design, visit our other article — What is a Cloffice? — to learn more about what goes into this workspace.
For this article, we interviewed an experienced interior designer, Carolina Rodrigues, who currently works for Todeschini. She offered some of her favorite ideas for cloffices, such as symmetrical or asymmetrical niches on the back wall and drawer units under the desk. Let’s get started.
- 1. Paint the Walls
- 2. Upgrade Your Lighting Game
- 3. Add a Touch of Green With Plants
- 4. Get Comfy With the Right Chair
- 5. Decorate With Rugs
- 6. Install Shelves
- 7. Add a Bulletin Board
- 8. Make a Chalkboard Wall
- 9. Enlarge the Space With a Mirror
- 10. Add a Feature Wall
- 11. Have Fun With Wall Hooks
- 12. Remove or Change up the Doors
1. Paint the Walls

Let’s start with the basics: Paint the back wall, or all the walls, with your preferred color. Adding color to your office can personalize your space and create a motivating workspace. Different colors can evoke different moods:
- Warm, bright colors can make you energized while cool, muted colors can make you more relaxed
- Light colors like off-white, neutrals, and pastels can make the space feel bigger, while darker colors can make it feel smaller
Pro Tip: Remember that darker colors absorb more heat, making the room feel warmer. If your closet tends to warm up easily, keep this in mind when choosing a color.
See Related: How to Use Pantone’s Color of the Year in Your Home
2. Upgrade Your Lighting Game

Not every closet has windows or gets natural light, but you can make up for this by playing with different types of lighting. Choose an option that fits your style: from vintage table lamps to modern LED light strips.
For Rodrigues, who enjoys making use of natural light as much as possible, investing in table lamps is one of the best ways a homeowner can improve a room’s lighting if the natural light is insufficient.
Another important aspect is to choose the right light color. White lights are ideal for daytime working hours, while warm lights are easier on the eyes for those who prefer working at night.
3. Add a Touch of Green With Plants
Adding potted plants to your office provides your workspace with a nice touch of nature. And if you’re less than skilled at horticultural pursuits, you can add fake ones for that splash of green. Some of the best low-maintenance plants for your office include:
- Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
- Jade plant (Crassula ovata)
- Echeveria
- Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
See Related: How Houseplants Can Purify the Air
Pro Tip: If you have pets, choose pet-friendly plants such as echeveria, or place toxic plants out of their reach.
See Related:
— Plants Poisonous to Dogs
— Plants Poisonous to Cats
4. Get Comfy With the Right Chair
Balance comfort and style by choosing a beautiful upholstered armchair or by adding cushions to the seat and back of your chair. Or, because you spend so much time in your office, consider investing in an ergonomic chair so you can work with comfort. Although ergonomic chairs are not the most stylish, they can make a huge difference on your back at the end of the day.
See Related: 12 Types of Office Chairs
5. Decorate With Rugs
Floors are often overlooked, but adding a beautiful rug can add warmth and personality to your home office. Also, if you don’t have carpet in your closet, adding a rug under your chair can prevent it from scratching the floor.
6. Install Shelves

Optimize the use of space in your cloffice by installing shelves to store your office essentials, storage boxes, and organizers. But more than that, shelves can also be used to add decorative elements to your walls: your favorite photo, potted plants, or inspiring messages.
Pro Tip: Rodrigues mentions that thicker shelves are a safer bet for the homeowner. They can support more weight than standard shelves, which are only about 3/4-inch thick, and are useful for those who have plenty of books or other heavy items. She also recommends using symmetrical or asymmetrical niches for an intricate design.
Hire a local top-rated handyman to install shelves or other storage options in your closet office.
7. Add a Bulletin Board
Bulletin boards (aka pinboards) are another way to decorate and add functional space to your wall, Rodrigues says. Eye-catching and useful, pinboards give you a place to add notes and reminders to your workspace. These practical boards will help you remember to print that document or send that message to a coworker.
8. Make a Chalkboard Wall
If you were one of those kids who loved drawing on the walls, this one is for you. Recapture that youthful spirit by painting an entire wall, or a small section, with chalkboard paint. Your work days will be imbued with fun and playfulness while you write down notes or doodle on your wall.
9. Enlarge the Space With a Mirror
Mirror, mirror on the wall, how can I make my cloffice seem more spacious? If you’re feeling a little claustrophobic, adding a mirror to your cloffice can create the illusion of a bigger space. With this simple trick, you can open up space while adding style to it: Choose a mirror with a round or organic design for a modern look, or one with a golden frame for a more classic style.
10. Add a Feature Wall
If you crave a creative and fun environment, even in a small space, feature walls are another way to add a personal touch to your office. Here are some feature wall ideas for your cloffice:
- Choose wallpaper with your favorite design or pattern. Rodrigues advises adding wallpaper to the main wall of the closet (usually the wall where your desk will lean against) for those who want to personalize their space in a DIY way.
- Paint your wall with textured paint for added depth.
- Decorate the back wall with artwork or your favorite pictures. (See our article on how to hang a picture step-by-step to achieve perfectly straight pictures every time.)
11. Have Fun With Wall Hooks
Being creative with decorative wall hooks can add style and even more functionality to your space: You can hang headphones, cables, keys, and other materials that you would like to keep at arm’s reach. Choose wood wall hooks for a rustic look or stainless steel hooks for a modern, industrial aesthetic.
12. Remove or Change up the Doors

While this bold idea might be for the more enthusiastic folks, if you find yourself enjoying how your cloffice looks, you can remove the doors and turn it into the focal point of the room.
But if one of the biggest pros of your cloffice is closing the door and forgetting about work for the day, you can substitute your standard closet doors for sliding doors or folding doors, which Rodrigues prefers, or even barn doors for that extra touch of style.
See Related: Pros and Cons of a Cloffice (Closet Office)
Bring Life to Your Cloffice
A cloffice brings function and practicality to your home. With these 12 ideas, we hope to have provided you with useful inspiration so you can bring life to your cloffice using your personal, creative touch.
For personalized guidance, let Home Gnome connect you with a top local interior designer or handyman near you to bring your cloffice ideas to life.
Read More:
— How to Choose an Office Chair
— How to Fix a Squeaky Office Chair
— How to Fix a Wobbly Office Chair
Note: Home Gnome may get a referral fee for matching you with pros in your area.
Main Image Credit: Dariusz Jarzabek / Adobe Stock Free / License