Whether you're telecommuting or just being productive in your off time, when working from home it's always good to have a dedicated space to get things done. A traditional office desk certainly works, but more frequently people are finding unique alternative solutions for working at home.
The standing desk
Sitting for long periods of time generally means low physical activity and maintaining a less than favorable posture. The popularity of the standing desk among the community over at Ikea Hackers has lead to a great variety of interesting mods and hacks to stock Ikea furniture. If you feel like you're spending too much time sitting while working from home, consider the benefits of a standing desk to help you stay a bit more active while you work. I've experimented with this myself and have found that a coffee table placed on a traditional desk works pretty well for temporarily trying out a standing posture.
For more on standing desks, check out these articles from the Apartment Therapy archives:
- Making Your Own Standing Desk: The Best of Both Worlds?
- My $30 DIY Standing Desk
- When You Can't Decide Whether to Stand or Sit
The kitchen table
If you're like me, you might not have much room to set up a dedicated space for working, and so maintaining a modular, multi-purpose space might be your best option for working at home. Designer Lotta Jansdotter created this very cool combination kitchen table work space which lets you get more out of a small living space.
Working from bed
Sometimes you just don't feel like making it in to the office, but taking a sick day doesn't necessarily mean you won't get anything done. Using a laptop pad on the couch or in bed helps keep your laptop on a stable surface and keep your lap cool. Pinterest user Alex Muzumbu shares a very in-depth set of pinned laptop bed desks and reviews. A short, light coffee table placed on your bed also works fairly well as a temporary desk space for those sick days in bed.
A sitting office
Lifehacker recently profiled this unique office space, which employs a low to the ground desk which might appeal to yoga enthusiasts. Though perhaps not terribly comfortable, it's an interesting take on the home office.
A workout desk
Much like the standing desk, a workout desk, like this one incorporating an elliptical machine, offers a way to mitigate the effects of prolonged sitting while you work. While perhaps not as attractive as other home office solutions (or in some cases as space efficient) a workout desk takes multitasking to the extreme, letting you combine working at home with a home work out (just be careful not to get too much sweat on your laptop).
Some workout desks from the Apartment Therapy archives:
A hidden workspace
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Those with space-limited apartments might want to check out this table top from the Ikea Vika line, the Veine, which contains a hide away compartment for a combination table and desk.
A number of other manufactures also offer interesting takes on the hide away desk in more traditional styles.
Find a solution that works for you
Managing a balance between work and home life is tricky, especially for those of us who telecommute, working long hours from our homes. Luckily there are a growing number of options and alternatives to the traditional office space to help balance space, lifestyle and work. Take some time and consider your options when setting up a home office and find a solution that works best for you.
Many of the solutions above came about as a result of creative problem solving, and a bit of DIY elbow grease. Perhaps you have your own unique approach to working from home — if so, feel free to share a link in the comments below!
(Images: as linked above)
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i use a normal sofa table/entry table as a desk. it's about deep enough to just fit my laptop, and long enough to just put a few essentials - a cup of coffee, a notebook/book/etc. so that i can actually use it as a work space rather than a new surface to put all my junk on. and better yet - if you have one with a drawer - stick your laptop in there when you are done and you can have a surface to stick a plant on in the meantime.
I made a standing desk at work out of stacked letter trays and a spare bookcase shelf. I then used some paper reams to elevate my monitors. It works and it was free (basically scavenging the copy room).
At home I don't have a desk since my PC is connected to my TV. I just have a wireless keyboard with trackpad and just do my work from the couch. I do have one of those laptop stands if needed.
When I am not at my desk, I have a "personal table" attached to an Ekornes chair...very comfy.
I have the IKEA "hidden desk" (Vika Veine), and its novelty has worn off, as sure as the hydraulic arms that hold it open. For one, the arms lost their holding power, and the desk had the potential to slam closed if bumped from the other side, or, if clawed from the inside by my unsuspecting cat. The felt inside is temping but her near-death encounter with the desk keeps her clear. After that, I went to IKEA and got two replacement hinges, but they have weakened as well.
The other thing I'll mention is that I had to get a laptop riser because ergonomic issues, so now it's a real pain to break it all down if I ever do want to close the thing.
It's very cool if you're not going to use it for a computer and have no small children or pets who might be slammed shut in it, but man, am I disappointed.
As for the standing desks, I also got a small, cool, wall-mounted, fold-down laptop desk on Amazon and it's great.
Anyone know the source for the walnut tray in the "working from bed" section?