If you're the type of person to agonize about the length of window treatments or how high above the sofa to hang that new painting, then you're in good company. Our question to you today: in your home office, do you display your laptop open or closed while not in use?
When you think about it, your laptop is like the centerpiece of a well-kept desk. As your only computer, it sits at the center of the action, waiting to be used. Everything else you've spent time curating — your mousepad, pencil cup and that friendly office plant — gets positioned around the laptop as the star of the desktop show.
On the one hand, leaving it open makes your whole desk ready for action. You can sit down at a moment's notice to check breaking news or search for the latest cat video on YouTube. It's a welcoming position. And if you own a MacBook, it keeps the Apple logo upright. Because, yes, it matters to some of us.
On the other hand, a closed laptop takes up less space in your sight. It makes the desk look tidy. If your desk is positioned to face the room, a closed laptop keeps from visually breaking up the space. If your desk faces a wall, the closed laptop reveals the wall and decor behind it. The print on the wall or your inspiration corkboard are bared in all of their glory.
Just like the age-old debate of which way to hang the toilet paper off the roll, there's no right answer for everyone. But we want to know: do you keep your laptop open or closed on your desk, and why?
(Images: Kathryn's Tiny Home Office, Katy's Tidy Brooklyn Home Office)
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
I leave the toilet set up because that matters to me too. now if only I could get a mac symbol on it..
I keep it closed only because I'm clumsy and have a tendency to knock things off the desk (often).
I leave it closed because I cannot stand dust getting on and in my MacBook Pro.
I use my macbook with a second screen, so it looks better to have it open. However its not in the centre, so not the item of focus.
Leave it open!!! You can set it so that it's a piece of art:
1) Set your virtual wallpaper to something that coordinates with your room's decor
2) Set your virtual desktop such that your icons are hidden and your taskbar only pops up when invited to (on a PC, anyway, I have no experience with Macs)
3) Set your monitor to never turn off when it's plugged in (yeah... I'll take flak for that... it's not environmentally friendly)
Here's my example with my desktop, but the same principle applies with the laptop: My Home Office Setup (Pinterest)