MUJI Wants to Curate a Stylish Home Office For You Amid the Pandemic

MUJI, the Japanese brand known for minimalist furniture and home goods, has launched a furniture subscription service to help consumers curate temporary home offices amid COVID-19. As the pandemic culminates in more people working from home, MUJI’s new service, available in Japan, allows people to rent stylish desks, chairs, and other office pieces for 800 yen (about $7 in U.S. dollars) a month. And, once it’s safe for offices to reopen, subscribers can ship the pieces back. For those without a dedicated workspace, it’s certainly an ideal setup. (Hello from my dining room table!)

The brand has two “Petite Renovation” plans for consumers to choose from to create a compact and comfortable space. The first creates a semi-private room with a wooden partition wall, while the second creates a desk and wall space in accordance to the size of the room. MUJI will also offer an online consultation service with “lifestyle consultations,” so people can consult with design experts virtually on how to curate the best spaces for them. Once the period ends, consumers can cancel the subscription, extend it, or flat-out purchase the items. 

With this service, MUJI aims to “resolve various issues that the society currently faces by paying careful attention to the earth” and “bringing pleasure to people and beauty to their lives through its products and services,” per a press release. Now that “people’s working styles are changing dramatically” and remote work “has become part of our everyday life,” the brand strives to cultivate a “comfortable working environment” and “serve the life of people.” 

Given that some scientists and public health experts have predicted that the pandemic will only begin to gradually diminish by “sometime in 2021,” it appears that remote work will continue to be the norm for many workers across the globe. Until then, bring on the temporary office setups.