Putting a piece of wood on top of a pair of file cabinets or sawhorses is a tried-and-true method for getting a home office set up quickly and cheaply. But these three innovators have figured out how to upgrade, up-cycle and, completely makeover the simple three-piece desk concept with duck cloth, contact paper, wire shelves, table leaves and, yep, cardboard.

There's nothing trapped about the trend of wire caging. The iron accent adds a touch of industrial to a space, whether it's framing a lightbulb or stashing your mags. Here are some fresh finds for this peekaboo look:

Rope wrapped table at Drexel Heritage. Updated organic modernism. 

Name: Simon Pretty
Location: UK

I needed a decent desk, as I work from home once a week. Our place is small, so we needed something we could fold away, as the tiny room is also used to entertain guests. This corner was ideal for a desk, but has an awkward wall cutting across at 45 degrees, so I needed to custom-build a solution...

Intimo Secretary Desk
• $399.00
• CB2 

 Yesterday's home office starter roundup offered foundation pieces to create an ideal workspace with space limitations in mind. I'd also add this compact secretary designed by Jannis Ellenberger, another prime example of optimized utility in a small footprint. The laptop desk closes up beautifully when the work day is over (out of sight, out of mind), making it perfect as both a primary desk or for a secondary bedroom home office.

I love the look of this light and airy living room. From the high back sofa — perfect for being set up in the middle of the room — to the colorful rug, each piece works together to create a simple but beautiful room. I've rounded up a few of the key elements in the room so the look can be recreated in our own homes.

Design blogs, Tumblr, and Pinterest are all valuable sources when it comes to aspirational decor window-shopping. But the problem is many of these spaces, especially home offices, are staged (albeit beautifully so), bereft of any of the telltale signs of real work being done by real people. That's why I occasionally like to peruse Instagram; images there may be filtered, but they're usually more realistically representative of people's home workspaces...