Steelcase’s New Collection With Frank Lloyd Wright is the Upgrade Your Home Office Needs

You’d typically have to spend millions of dollars to own a Frank Lloyd Wright creation. But thanks to one furniture company, you can now purchase one for far less.

U.S. furniture company Steelcase, in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, is resurrecting some of the renowned architect’s archived designs as stylish work-from-home pieces.

The series is called the Racine Collection, named after the Wisconsin town where Wright constructed the SC Johnson Administration building in 1939. Steelcase was the furniture supplier of that office, which makes it fitting that they’ve released a Wright-designed desk. 

The Signature desk features a circular form with multiple cabinets, a trash can, a shelf for books, and a work surface that’s been modified to be bigger than the original. With a $9,750 price tag, it’s pricey for a desk, but compared to Wright’s properties that can fetch up to $18 million, this collectible is a relative bargain.

The Signature desk is the priciest item from the collection, but the Racine desk comes without the trash can and upper shelf, bringing the price down to $4,600. There are also three chairs, which Steelcase increased in size as only a fifth of American men today would have the leg clearance to fit in Wright’s original design. The chairs start at $1,800.

As for the color palette, the company derived it from a photo of Wright’s pencil set and produced colors such as black, walnut brown, and Racine red.

According to Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation CEO Stuart Graff, it took two years of collaborating with Steelcase to come up with the new products, having to comb through thousands of the architect’s designs. “Wright, fortunately, left us a guide,” Graff told Dezeen. “Wright wanted people to embrace the principles and show what they were capable of doing.”

And though the new models are slightly different from the originals to fit modern-day needs, Steelcase says that the collection remains faithful to Wright’s work.

“We have a shared commitment to excellence,” Meghan Dean, the general manager of partnerships at Steelcase, said. “But it was important to be in dialogue with the foundation and say ‘hey, we have a better way’ without affecting the original.”

If you’re convinced to get your hands on the Signature desk and its matching chair, the entire Racine Collection is available to shop online.