Looking for a small printer recommendation? You’ve come to the right place. Getting a printer is perhaps the most contentious disagreement Adam and I have had throughout quarantine. I insisted we didn’t have the room and walking up to FedEx to print at $0.15/page is easy enough — especially given the minimal amount of printing we do. Adam, on the other hand, thought it was one more hassle that he didn’t want to deal with.
Well, as you may have guessed from the title of this post: Adam won.
Small Printer Recommendation + HP OfficeJet Wireless Printer Review
Now, when I posted a shot of our home office corner on Instagram, I received several messages asking for details on my small printer recommendation. It seems that more than a few of you are hitting that work from home breaking point where you’re realizing, “oh shoot, I can’t just print personal documents at the office anymore…” (seriously, does anyone actually use an office printer for anything besides the occasional doctor’s form or shipping label?!).
And, it’s no surprise that we’re all looking for a petite printer. We don’t want some monstrosity taking up an entire desk with cords and multiple paper trays. We want easy, small and minimalist. Sleek, if you will.
Adam found the HP OfficeJet 3830 All-In-One Wireless Printer on Amazon and thought it seemed like the most reliable, budget-friendly, smallish printer available. It’s sleek, solid black, and only 17″ x 14″ x 8″. Are there smaller models out there? I’m sure, but this one also has a scanner, which Adam felt was a must-have. It’s a wireless printer, which is great for printing quickly from my phone or laptop. So far, I’ve only needed to print black and white documents, but the quality has been well worth it for about $75.
Also, I complained a lot, but it’s been incredibly helpful in saving me trips to FedEx to print Poshmark labels.
A note: from the reviews I’ve read, it looks like you can get roped into signing up for HP’s monthly ink subscription, Instant Ink, during setup if you’re not careful. I’m not sure of the details, but it sounds like it’s something to avoid unless you’re printing less than 15 pages a month.
Tips for Setting Up a Guest Room Home Office
Okay, approximately 165 words is where I tap out on reviewing a printer, so let’s chat for a second about setting up a guest room home office. I know I’m not the only one here who lives in a small space and is being forced to make do with what’s available in terms of setting up an optimal work from home environment. So, what’s the best way to set up a guest room home office…without turning it into an actual “office”?
Don’t get me wrong, if we had another extra room, I’d totally lean into the masculine library vibe and create a true office…but that’s not in the cards right now.
What we’ve done is carve out a corner in our guest room that houses all “office” supplies. I didn’t want the room to feel overrun with work. It also has to function as my workout room, which means I need floor space, and our guest room should we have guests (though, realistically, we’ve only had guests 4 times in the 16 months we’ve lived here). Here’s what we did:
- Installed wooden floating shelves to give the room a library, academic, but styled, feel. Yes, I know, they’re not exactly filled with books we’re using for work, but, hey, it’s the vibe I’m going for.
- Gave the printer a home atop an antique trunk.
- Next to the printer, we have a black, minimalist file holder (it was only $17 from Target!) that allows Adam to dump all of his paper files and mail neatly in one place…without driving me absolutely insane looking at it.
- The file folder lives in a lucite tray, where we also keep a few loose pens and notepads. If we had a desk, these items could live there, but we don’t. I got rid of my desk when I was clearing out space for the workout room. Neither of us worked at the desk anyway, so it was serving no purpose except to corral a few random items.
- And, of course, we have a Zoom-worthy background in this room. The bold wallpaper and framed antique portraits of my grandparents that reside along one wall look professional on camera — and they’re always a conversation starter.
The key to creating a home offie in a room that has to serve other purposes is to keep everything together in one spot, rather than letting it overrun the room. These items are well-styled enough that they blend in, you don’t walk in and think, “ah, home office here!” And, that my friends, is the goal, right?!
