The big news in our lives here is after 5+ years in the same apartment is we're packing up and finally moving to a new place. The exciting part is the new space will offer more space in every room than our current studio. Almost. We're going to lose our beloved home office, so now we're scheming and dreaming about how to make an oversized closet work as our new work space. Here are some of the closet-sized desks we're considering…
Not all of these are the right size (in fact, you may already recognize the IKEA Besta Burs is the work surface we use at the moment), but we've been collecting a variety of solutions and inspiring home offices in closet photos. The easiest route is to stuff an appropriately sized desk into a closet; we haven't moved in yet, so we're not sure of the dimensions of the living room closet. But if money wasn't an issue, our first choice would be the sublime Lifework Portfolio's Airia desk from Herman Miller; we fell in love with it on first site at ICFF a couple seasons ago and haven't forgotten ever since.
A close second and more within our reach (with a little bit of saving up), is the LAX Series wall mounted desk; the clean lines and shallow depth makes this very closet friendly. But more likely and within our budget is a rail wall mounted shelving and desk system from the likes of The Container Store's elf system or California Closets, which would take advantage of the vertical space and leave enough depth to and floor clearance to hide away the task chair when guests are over. For now, all possibilities are still open, so we'll report to you in the coming weeks as we setup our new home office.
Here's are eight various size desks that can work within different sized closests:
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Comments (12)
I like most of these, just wish Herman Miller stuff was a little less pricey....
Nice post!
codeislife: the Airia Desk is actually a solid walnut frame furniture piece; that's a white laminate surface ontop, not plastic. I agree about avoid seating that are completely made of plastic (the photo was meant to illustrate the wall mount shelving, not the chair), but many of the best task chairs do use plastic as part of the supportive framework to great ergonomic effect (my favourite chair, the Embody, is a glowing example of a skeletal support system).
Just as anything you'd consider using for great lengths of time, the best thing to do is try them out yourself, note the quality (or there lackof) of construction, how the product fits your lifestyle and body shape...mileage may vary according to all your own parameters (or as you would say, "to each their own!).
ryanprouty: indeed, many of us wish some of the Herman Miller pieces were more within the range of mere mortals. But then again, these are the sort of pieces that become collectible design heirlooms, with notable superior construction to most big store offerings. But yeah, I wish I could afford one myself.
Personally, I prefer my OneLessDesk by Heckler design. It is expensive but substantially less so than the Herman Miller designs. It is very space conscious, made of solid materials that can withstand a heavy monitor and it has a concealed cord management system on the back. Oh, and it is stylish enough to withstand my uber-picky standards although I chose the not-so-edgy white color.
http://hecklerdesign.com/onelessdesk/
Chels from We Are Not Martha did this in her apartment: http://www.wearenotmartha.com/2009/11/someone-has-an-office-hint-its-me/.
I think it's cool as long as you have closet lighting. I'm not sure how else you'd get light in there?
The herman miller stuff is not THAT much better than a lot of the big box stuff. they still use veneer and laminate on top of particle board like everyone else. most of the high cost is paying to have a desk with a herman miller stamp on it. there is no reason that a simple veneer desk with few or no moving parts should cost $800, but such is the state of high end furniture design.
Thanks Redsmurf!
OneLessDesk is too pretty to put in a closet anyhow.
Though, I do use a HM Aeron with mine. Hard to argue against the Aeron.
It's too bad you'll be losing your home office. The tour was awesome. It was an inspiration to get my home office organized.
How about the BlueLounge StudioDesk. Dimensions for the desk are on the website.
I love that Airia desk...and I'm not just saying that because I work for Herman Miller!
C
http://home-design-network.ning.com/profiles/blogs/finding-an-office
Here is one of my offices in a closet.
Redsmurf, thanks so much for sharing that link!
OneLessDesk looks awesome, and is pricey but manageable (like, eat ramen for a couple months as opposed to sell your first-born).
Does anyone know if there is a desk like the white roll out desk which is available to the UK? Its exactly the style I need!