Transform Wasted Space into a Multi-Purpose Office

Moving from a big house into a 30 foot box requires a lot of adjustment.  In a house, you can devote a whole room to an office and likely have plenty of closet space.  In our old house, we had a huge office (probably around the same size as Wanda) with an over-sized desk and dual screen computer monitors.  We transformed a spare bedroom into a walk in closet and built a shelving system in our master closet just for shoes.  So, some of our biggest challenges for downsizing to an RV revolved around how to create a work space and where to put all our shoes!

Master Shoe CLoset

Huge Office

other side of the office

Walk In Closet Blackboard Wall

Wall to wall of clothes

Washer and Dryer moved to our Closet

Old Layout With A Useless Chair

In our new tiny home, we can't afford wasted space and had to get creative in building some multi-purpose areas.  We spent a lot of time looking around Wanda and planning out how to renovate her to fit our needs better.  One of the first things that had to go was the lounge chair behind the passenger seat.  Why they installed two chairs like that to begin with is something we never understood.  We certainly didn't need it and the layout prevented us from being able to utilize the swivel feature of the passenger seat.

So, we came up with a plan to turn this unpractical use of space into a flip up desk with shoe storage.  We also decided to relocate the TV from above the driving seats to the back of the desk, so we could be more comfortable while watching it.   And as an added bonus, the TV could now double as a second monitor.  As far as shoe storage, we wanted to be able to hold at least 6 pairs.

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Desk in work mode

Desk sized so the passenger chair can spin freely

3 Shoe Cubicles That Can Fit At Least 9 Pairs Of Shoes

The brackets are sturdy and easy to move up and down

Brackets are bolted down to secure them into place

Transit Mode

Side Profile of the Workstation

Here's How It Works:

To provide support for the weight of the TV, desk top and cubbies, we used a large ½ inch plywood across the whole back wall. 

Attached to that plywood are 3 long open cubbies which can each fit 3 or more pairs of shoes while allowing maximum accessibility.  

The counter top is then attached to both the wall and cubbies and hinges up and down.  We used nuts and bolts to secure the brackets to the cubbies and screwed the countertop in from the bottom.  
        After trying several hinges I would recommend two StarVast 12 Inch Folding Shelf Brackets.  They support a lot of weight, move up and down smoothly with little effort, lock the desk position automatically and allow the desk to lay flat against the cubbies when in transit.
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Cut List (This is very specific to our RV so use it as a guideline but be sure to measure your own space when building yours)

• 3 Shelves:  9.5" x 29.25" x.5" Birch Plywood
• Small Tabletop: 10" x 29.25" x .5" Birch Plywood
• Folding Tabletop: 21.5"x 29.25" x .5" Birch Plywood
• Front Wall: 30" x 29.25" x .5" Birch Plywood ( I would recommend a height that is comfortable to work on all day and fits your passenger. If I would make it again I would drop it an 1.5 to 2 inches. I think the desk it a little high to type on)
• Wall Piece: 60.5" x 30" x .5" Birch Plywood

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Joinery
There are a lot of ways you can join the pieces together (glue, nails, screw, box joints, butt joints etc).  We used a combination of pocket hole screws, wood glue and 90 degree brackets to ensure it would hold up against highway potholes. ​

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The desk before the TV was installed

Finishing
You can finish it any way you want. We decided to match our painted blue cabinets and the wood stain on our kitchen counter tops.  To give the desk some additional protection we used a stain and poly combo.  

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A Few Tips

• Put the back wall up first and then pre-assemble the cubbies before installing.  
• Use rubber stair mats from Home Depot cut to size on the bottom of the cubbies to prevent the shoes from sliding out when moving and to make cleaning easier.
• When purchasing an articulating bracket for the TV, make sure the arms extend far enough so the TV could be swung perpendicular when working at the desk.
• To prevent the brackets from rattling when you drive, strap the desktop down when in transit.  
• Make a plan for all your electric and wiring before you build the desk.  We use the cabinet above for our media storage and a docking station for charging our laptops and to connect to the TV display.  We also ran a separate A/C line for the media cabinet so we could easily control the whole system. 

If you have any questions feel free to leave us a comment. I can also email you a copy of the sketchup file.