My husband and I’ve shared with a home office for years. It was a struggle. We started with one beefy, dark wooded desk-armoire, which devoured our windowless 9- by 11-foot distance that doubles as a pass-through to our bedroom. Worse, this colossal desk supplied seating capacity for only one of us at a time.

Regardless of the money we plunked down to the desk we relented to make a proper office that functioned both within the parameters of the space and for our unique needs.

GB Group Construction

We substituted the desk-armoire with two sleeker-profile white desks similar to people in the job shown here, by GB Group Construction. (I will show you my office in the Remarks.) After exploring loads of agreeing and desks on quite few, we opted for build-your-own modular parts, for which we paid about $2,000 for 2 complete desk setups. I had a piece of glass habit cut ($100) to put over mine to get a more tasteful and cleaner texture.

Ah, living room finally. Despite there now being a bigger furniture footprint, the space feels lighter due to the desks’ whiteness and their considerably shorter height. Plus, we all have our own area. My husband took the larger corner although I took a smaller desk in exchange for a tight view via a nearby bedroom window.

The takeaway: Each partner needs different things within an office, and each may need a voice at the decision process. Concessions are a part of the process. In this situation it was the window seat versus the bigger desk.

David Howell Design

Natural light is a great thing to have at a workspace, like this one by David Howell Design. This was particularly true for our dim cave, an interior area into which incorporating a window wasn’t possible. Our solution was to have a light tube installed (it is a one-story space) for approximately $1,500.

This enhanced our moods instantly.

The takeaway: Designing a space with a partner is not only about the pretty things you put in it. You need to strike the right mood that will create an enjoyable working area for the two partners.

Smithouse

Given that we’d already maxed out our office budget, my husband and I chose to forgo the top-of-the-line office seats, as this office by Smithouse Construction does. Rather we used our extra dining seats, which have been differently cluttering up the dining area.

My husband’s installation worked fine, but after a couple weeks, I realized that my seat and shorter stature weren’t likely to be a good long-term match. I reclaimed the original office seat as mine.

The takeaway: It is much easier to have each partner comfy at her or his various desk than to try a matchy-matchy appearance that makes someone physically uneasy.

Dixon Construction, Inc..

To make space for both new desks, we needed to forfeit one of both bookcases. To offset the reduction of storage, we added open shelves ($85 each) above both desks, as this endeavor by Dixon Construction features. Turns out a 4-foot shelf at arm’s length from each one of our chairs is much more convenient for containing personal things and also for us to recover them.

The takeaway: To make harmony between spouses, it is important that each has a private space that another respects and remains from.

And lastly, every operating relationship needs rules. These are our rules to make sure that our shared home office remains marriage friendly:
Maintain your side clean.If you need to take a telephone, do so in another room so as to not disturb the other’s workflow.Wear headphones when listening to audio.Always split out a lunch or coffee break together to recall why we opted to share a home office in the first place.

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