These days we all seem to either be taking some work home with us, or running a side hustle that needs its own space in our apartment. What we need is a small, but functional, study area or home office. But what do we do if we live in a small apartment?

Here are some great examples of how you can sneak in a small space for study or working at home, even if you do live in a small apartment.

1. At the foot of your bed

Adding a stylish desk with storage to the area at the bottom of your bed - like in this apartment at The Florida - is a fantastic way to carve out some extra space to study, run a mini business or get some work done. 

Image Credit: 19 Eighty Three

This idea saves on space no matter how small your bedroom. In this Shunfu Road apartment, the design uses a platform bed for additional storage, plus high shelves to store all the bits and pieces you need for work.

Image Credit: Ark-hitecture

The bedroom of this Clementi apartment mixes a custom platform bed with a desk large enough for a computer screen, as well as storage above it, the perfect spot for work, study or even a vanity area.

Image Credit: Lemonfridge Studio

2. In your living room 

You don’t have to convert an entire room into a home office, just add a partitioned area like the one in this Bukit Batok BTO apartment, to your living area. By hiding it away you can keep the area from looking too much like a work space.

Images Credits: Lemonfridge Studio

Use built-in furniture to create a space dedicated to working from home, like the hanging desk idea in this AMK HDB Hub apartment.

Images Credits: De Style Interior

In this Parc Seabreeze apartment a full home office has been tucked away in the living area, saving space in another room, plus allowing for a work-from-home career.

Image Credit: De Style Interior

An attractive framed space in this Bendemeer apartment is used both as a desk area, as well as a space to show off decorative pieces and collectibles; with no legs it stops the living area from looking too crowded.

Images Credits: MMJ Design Loft

3. Under the bed 

Make the most of the height of your ceiling and create a mezzanine area for your bed, with a home office placed underneath, like in this Waterfront Faber studio apartment.

Image Credit: Aart Boxx Interior

If you have some space under the stairs, create a neat small home office space like the one in this 8 Eight Riversuites apartment. Just make sure you won’t be hitting your head every time you get up!

Images Credits: Meter Square

For those of you lucky enough to have large bedroom spaces, you can create a custom bunk bed with room for a desk and extra storage underneath, like the one in this apartment at The Florida.

Images Credits: 19 Eighty Three

4. Foldaway furniture

With some clever design you can create a whole series of handy, space-saving pieces of furniture like the foldaway desk, and extra bed in this Parc Seabreeze apartment.

Images Credits: The Design Practice

A similar concept has been used in this Flamingo Valley apartment’s bedroom; the foldaway bed and desk opens up more room on the floor for kids to play.

Images Credits: Chapter B

Looking for more useful interior design tips? Read our story about which side of the island is the best place to live - East or West; discover our tips on how to make your HDB apartment feel larger; and learn how to add more colour to your home’s walls.