Work From Home? How To Create A Functional Space

We’ve talked about how to transform your compact apartment into different comfortable rooms, but now we need to go over how to make it work as a showroom. This is New York City, so everyone and everything needs to work multiple jobs. This week, we’re looking into jewelry designer Michelle Campbell’s apartment-turned-showroom. Michelle’s beautifully simple designs required a space that reflected her strong personal style while working with the delicate collection. Homepolish designer Morgan was all about layout strategy.

“I wanted to divide small spaces within this huge room for different functions like, a 'work' spot then a place for 'viewing the jewelry' and another 'large conversation spot,' and lastly, a 'relaxed area.' I was able to achieve this by the placement of furniture and by the fabric divider that I made and hung from the ceiling.”

“My advice for making a work space out of a living space is to focus on the floor plan. It doesn't mean you need to go buy a bunch of office-like furniture. It really is about making something user-friendly for you (the worker) and for anyone else who might come to the space to work with you. You want to be realistic with what you actually use everyday. So, I believe that, in offices, the first couple questions should always be, 'How do I want to use this space?' and, 'What is easiest for me to have close to me?' and build your floor plan from there. Then, you have the essentials you can bring in some decor to liven it up.”

“First and foremost, it was imperative to show off the jewelry. Michelle had display cases all over so you had to walk from one corner of the room to the other to see the whole collection. By grouping all the cases together in one focal point of space, we achieved a more focused and functional lay out. I wanted to keep the area surrounding the jewelry cases open so it was easy for potential buyers to circulate around them.”

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“I kept the large wood table (used as a conference place when buyers come) close to the jewelry so it is easy to quickly go back and reference a piece.”

“The other thing that we honed in on was streamlining the furniture that was already there. Our angle was 'organic glam,' as shown in the rustic conference table table with chrome legs, display tables, etc.”

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