“Utilitarian” may be the first word that springs to mind when you think of desks. And while they need to serve a practical purpose, there is no reason desks can not also be sleek, beautiful or even pretty in pink. These ideas can help you to get the best of both worlds.
Gates Interior Design
Go sleek, yet functional. “I had this desk custom built for me and my particular needs,” says Amanda Gates of AB Home Interiors. “Traditional desks are often made from non-toxic substances, and they tend to be fussy in layout. I wanted something that was sleek, easy to clean and easy on the eyes”
Office layout ought to represent the type of work and tasks that you do, she adds. “I handle a lot of blueprints and needed a desk that could accommodate several tasks, such as reading blueprints, handling paperwork, samples, paint chips, fabric samples, etc. but still have plenty of space to your computer and keyboard,” she says.
This desk of steel, high quality wood and laminate is one of the most asked-about design elements in her workplace, Gates notes.
Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs
Bring in nature. “The desk is from Restoration Hardware, and the branches come out of a tree that needed to be cut down from the backyard to accomodate a deck,” says Tineke Triggs of Artistic Designs for Living. “We never want to cut trees down, so we believed keeping a portion of it in the workplace was a fantastic reminder of this circle of existence, life and items worth living”
Roger Hirsch Architect
Play hide and seek. “This desk was custom designed by our office to specifically fit the requirements of their client and the requirements of this room,” says architect Roger Hirsch. “This house office area is open into the living space, so we wanted something that could be functional and cluttered at times, but may then simply fold off and look clean and minimal.”
He says, “Our custom design for a ‘floating’ teak slab, with a flip-top desk and slender drawers, solved the functional need by allowing for a very efficient desk area with a notebook and pin board, but in addition, it enables our client to simply shut his home office when not being used and have a gorgeous, clean surface as a portion of his living room.”
Shirley Meisels
Color it pretty in pink. “This desk was originally meant for the living room, until the homeowners bought a baby grand piano,” says Shirley Meisels of MHouse. “It needed a new home and fit perfectly in their kid’s bedroom.”
She adds, “As it had been meant for the living space it was pretty sophisticated, a Barbara Barry layout. To have it blend with the rest of the bedroom and make it seem more age appropriate, I sprayed it a bubble gum pink”
Neiman Taber Architects
Create an information hub. “This small office is what we call the information center in the home,” says architect David Neiman. “As computers have become an indispensable part of our lives, integrating an info center into the primary floor of their home has become standard.”
He adds, “The data center is a place in which you leave the computers set up a plug station for your phones, put your printer in the base. It’s where your children do their assignments, where the parents perform their bills, where you jump over to look up a recipe or answer a question that comes up over dinner. And the room has sliding doors so that you can shut it off when you want some solitude, or you do not want your guests to take a look at the heap of mail on the desktop”
Alexis Lane-Sanders Portfolio
Design for your family’s needs. “The owners of the home have three kids ranging in age from seven to 12, and they wanted a space that would allow the children a serene environment to research and do their assignments,” says Alexis Lane of Lane Design Studio.
“By putting both of these desks back to back, I was able to create an area big enough for all of them to sit together and help each other out,” he says. “The bleached wood of these desks tied in nicely with the rug and soft gray of the space, helping to make a light, beachy feel that educated the proprietors of Hawaii.”
John Lum Architecture, Inc.. AIA
Mix modern with traditional. “Working with our client, we picked this desk because of its unusual shape and organic layout,” says architect John Lum. “Originally, the table was designed for the executive offices of Esprit and was part of a matching conference table set.”
He adds, “The natural shape contrasts well with the somewhat formal Edwardian characteristics of this bay window and allows the proprietor to sit and revel in the view in a diagonal, transforming a staid inside into a lively composition.”
Jodie Rosen Design
Keep it easy. “This desk was selected after much deliberation as to whether to proceed with an L-shape built-in or a floating model,” says Jodie Rosen of Jodie Rosen Design. “The end result is that the whole filing and ‘guts’ of this workplace, for example, printer, are behind the closet doors, and the desk is simply a touch-down for those clients’ computer and light paperwork.”
The table top and white lacquer base “mention the A/V unit on the other side of the space,” she adds. “It supplies the performance the clients needed without weighing down the space.”
Michael Fullen Design Group
Mix woods. “We incorporated two different wood species for this desk and office area to add interest and remain within budget,” says Michael Fullen of Michael Fullen Design Group. “Exotic zebra wood was used in limited quantities for impact, while the rest of the cabinetry was created in alder and stained a contrasting, complementary color.”
Laura Bendik Interiors
Ensure it is legal. “This desk was featured in a model house that I designed about 10 years back,” says Laura Bendik of DesignStudioB. The concept turned into a lawyer’s home office in a solarium off an official living room.
“I wished to earn a spouse’s-style desk in which several people may work on a project at the same time, while still keeping it formal enough for client meetings,” she says. “The front side of this desk is utilized for storage of law publications and the custom-shaped Absolute Black granite top was fabricated to complete the appearance.”
Feldman Architecture, Inc..
Leave ’em hanging. “We wanted to hang on the desk and shelving from the walls to maintain the space feeling light and airy while at precisely the same time providing a generous work surface and shelving,” says Jonathan Feldman of Feldman Architecture. “This is a converted garage, and we left the garage door to the front and put a new wall with a translucent polycarbonate panel before the existing garage window to allow in the light”
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A Desk for Every Home Office