Browsing: A dozen desks for the home office

The home decor industry may still be in a post-recession slowdown, but if fall furniture collections are any indication, consumers are supremely busy in one particular room: the home office. High demand for residential desks may not exactly bode well for the nation's workforce, but at least it has spurred more options for those setting up shop at home.

Manufacturers are rolling out a number of new desks tailored for house and apartment. British manufacturer Thelermont Hupton's latest, the Farm, above, consists of individual saw horses made of solid ash that can be topped with a work surface of your choosing. Buy some additional horses as sculpture, and you've got yourself a stable. The company will begin taking orders soon for delivery starting in January, a spokeswoman said. Keep an eye on the firm's website for pricing and availability.

For the stressed-out and overwhelmed, there is the piece of simple beauty to the right: the aptly named Covet desk by designer Shin Azumi.

The solid oak frame is open and airy while still providing a ledge for document boxes. A nicely angled drawer on the right provides a tad more stealth storage. London-based Case Furniture started selling Covet in September for 1,025 British pounds, or about $1,600.

Keep reading for more noteworthy designs — practical workhorses, budget buys and some inspired statements against cubicle conformity ...

For space-crunched folks looking to tuck a desk into the corner of a rustic living room, the 5-foot-wide Wright desk, above, just might disappear into the woodwork. The three drawer fronts are milled from telephone pole cross bars. The drawers are set in a case made of sustainably harvested North American walnut. Price: $775. Hold It Contemporary Home, San Diego.

 

For a solid sense of refinement, look to Secret from the German firm Zeitraum. The desk's graceful lines are carved of solid oak, cherry or walnut and finished in natural oils. Twin flaps at the rear of the desktop open to storage compartments -– one for cords, perhaps, and another to keep pens, scissors, staplers and such out of sight. For price and availability, contact Zeitraum's U.S. retailer Suite New York.

 

The Cant desk from Blu Dot takes its name from the cantilevered desktop, a walnut-veneer work surface with a rear cutout for cords. It's perched atop giraffe-like walnut legs and crowned with a petite steel shelf that comes in gray or red. Price: $599.

Looking to save space without sacrificing style? The Ledge, above, is a 4-foot-wide, 18-inch-deep desk that cantilevers from the wall. The right side has a slide-out surface for your laptop; the left has a drawer for everything else. A nook in back helps to manage cords. It comes in solid walnut ($1,500) or in fiberboard finished with glossy red paint ($1,300) from Urbancase, and prices include shipping. The Ledge also can be ordered through Ford & Ching in L.A. and A+R in Venice.

Restoration Hardware has been emphasizing a humble-meets-luxe look, mixing reproductions of industrial antiques with burlap-upholstered wing chairs and distressed leather steamer trunks. The new French Factory Metal Desk, above, is a hefty 154-pound piece with twin curved storage cubbies. A hidden panel slides out from the demilune desktop to provide a work surface for a laptop. Price: $1,995, catalog and Internet only.

Cash-strapped shoppers may look to Ikea, CB2 and West Elm fur budget buys, but the Tate desk above came to us from Plummers. The high gloss and chrome might appeal to Regency queens as much as the price: $275.

 

At the other end of the spectrum: We first saw Swedish designer Helena Svensson's desk, For Every Little Thing, at the Milan furniture fair. A clutterholic's nightmare, the piece actually would be quite functional for neat freaks. No more opening multiple drawers in search of keys, stamps, rubber bands, the dry-cleaning receipt. Just look, then pull. Gray-painted beech is topped in Optiwhite glass, which is free of the green tint so common in tabletops. Price: $4,300. E-mail the designer at helena@helenasvensson.com.

We also saw the Applied Literature table, above, in Milan. Ivanka Studio of Budapest, Hungary, collaborated with artist Janos Hübler to create the artwork. The concept: Outdated political texts could be pulled out, leaving a void in the concrete and an opportunity to fill the empty space with another work of differing shape or depth. Contact the studio for pricing, or stay tuned for what the studio says is a "serial-production" version of the design. 

L.A.-based MashStudios' newest desk is a freestanding piece made of solid walnut. A grooved pencil-holder is built into the desktop, and a powder-coated aluminum cubby provides a spot to stash -- what is that, a photo album? A high school yearbook? Why do I think that's not really work? Whatever. Simple lines, solid-wood construction, attractive price: $860.

 

 

Bluelounge, known for clever mobile-phone and iPod recharging stations, has tackled the cord clutter of the computer desk.

The Pasadena design firm's StudioDesk has a work surface that slides forward, revealing a well where cords and a power strip can be stowed out of the way.

The flat-pack design includes solid mahogany legs that customers attach themselves to the white laminate desktop; the black faux-leather mat is included.

Price: $599.95. 

-- Craig Nakano

Photo credits, from top: Thelermont Hupton, Case Furniture, Hold It Contemporary Home, Zeitraum, Blu Dot, Urban Case, Restoration Hardware, Plummers, Louise Bjerkert for Helena Svensson, Ivanka Studio, Mash Studios, Bluelounge

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Comments

[John Trosko]

Fabulous, well thought-out choices. I appreciate seeing the samples, some are at very affordable pricing! Thank you LA Times.

[Kris]

Nice minimalism. But I, like many, have a lot of paperwork/electronics to store in my office. And minimalist furniture will make a mess once you put more than 3 items on its surface. Plus, those chairs can't be comfortable.

How about reviewing desks that allow for reasonable storage but aren't those old-fashioned roll top nightmares??

[Pasadena Gal]

Affordable? You must be joking John.

[jacqueline Tellalian]

nothing above even comes close to Ikea's brilliant "Jerker" of about a dozen years ago. I have one that's now falling apart and of course, they discontinued it. do a Google search - there's literally hundreds of pages singing the praises of this perfect computer desk - me among them. and unlike the mostly, overpriced examples in your article, the Jerker was around $300.

it's a shame that companies fail to see that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[giles slade]

Dear Craig,

I enjoyed this, but I would really like (and what I really need for health reasons) is a functional desk where I can stand up and write.

there is a famous Herman Miller standing workstation design from the 50s or 60s (my apologies, I forget the famous designer's name).

I wonder why no one seems to design such desks any more especially considering recent research demonstrating that sedentary jobs shorten our lifespans considerably.

Do you know of a workable, affordable standing desk design that is readily available?

Thanks,

Giles Slade in Vancouver, Canada

[BrickellPrincess]

All those desks look more like apartment furniture than anything else. The all scream 'We hope computers go away--they're just a fad'. When will furniture designers admit to themselves that computers are here to stay and stop designing these useless desks that pretend computers are a fad? What I see above are drawing desks...not work desks and certainly nothing worthy of a computer centric workspace.

FAIL!

[Craig Nakano]

Hi, Giles. Herman Miller does still sell designs from the '50s and '60s, though I don't know if the company sells the model to which you're referring. (I'm a fan of the Nelson Swag desk, http://www.hermanmiller.com/Products/Nelson-Swag-Leg-Desk-and-Tables.) I didn't include any of those classics here because we were trying to focus on new releases. If you can use a wall-mounted work station, the Urbancase Ledge can be installed at any height, as can Mash Studios' LAX series wall-mounted desk. Ikea has a wall-mounted laptop station as well; I just didn't include any pieces from Ikea (or West Elm, or CB2, or Target) because I figured most anyone looking for affordable contemporary furniture already knows to look there. If you need a freestanding desk, I'm afraid the office-supply route may be the most cost-effective solution. I'll keep my eye out for other options. Kind readers, please do the same.

[Giles Slade]

Thank you, Craig.

The wall mounted item seems a bit small for what I intend...real sprawling work, but the info about the Henry Miller retro designs is useful.

The link is broken, but I'll contact them.

These are beautiful designs, incidentally, and you hit a nice mix of affordability into exoticism...good job!

Giles Slade

[Solid Oaks Furniture]

Great Post! The designs are awesome. i just love having those furniture around my house for it saves a space plus the design is unique of it's kind. Thank you so much sharing this.