Last week I posted one side of the new office/studio, which is now at the front of the house (where the bedroom used to be). Here’s what’s over by the window on the other side of the room.
My desk is made from the top of my father’s old drawing table. It originally had these beautiful, gigantic, adjustable legs, which are great for drawing, but not so great for sewing or cutting or using a computer (not that I use that ancient iMac very much, believe me—most of my computer usage is limited to the sofa with our MacBook, or at my workplace on a G5) I’ve had the table in storage for years now, because it just wasn’t meeting my needs. To make it more functional and bring it out of hiding, I took the adjustable legs off (they’re back in storage), and added a pair of steel VIKA MOLIDEN underframes from IKEA in their place. Because they are screwed directly into solid wood, the table is now incredible sturdy and perfectly level. I’m very happy that I’m able to use my father’s table again! It holds more personal meaning to me than any new surface could, and I think that’s important to have at least a little of that in every room in the house—particularly in a space that’s use for creative endeavors.
I really really really hate seeing things like scanners, printers, modems, electrical cords, and powers strips. I’ve squirreled them all away in my trusty IKEA PS cabinet (raise your hand if you own one of these! Maybe there needs to be a Flickr group…), which I’ve been dragging around from apartment to apartment to apartment to house for 5 years now. It’s one of the most functional, attractive, and durable pieces of furniture I own. I think it has entered the realm of design classic, and I hope IKEA continues manufacturing these cabinets for a long time.
33 Comments
Your house is so, so gorgeous!
Hi
we also have been shopping for a drafting table with an idea of swaping the legs. The only thing is the top cannot be angled anymore with the new legs? Unfortunately the vika artur legs seen here have been out of stock for months now – http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S39836264
Val.
Thank you, Kathy 🙂
Val, I didn’t want the top to be adjustable anymore, since I don’t use it for drawing or drafting. I need a flat, stable surface at regular desk height — that’s why I switched out the old legs for now.
oh those windows! your studio looks great. i used to have one red ps, but got rid of it last year 🙂
aw yeah, hand raised for the ikea ps cabinet! we use ours to hold our dvd player, vcr, dvds and all of that crap. so nice to have all of the ugly equipment and cords hidden away.
there most definitely needs to be a flickr group dedicated to this.
I covet your proper home office. I conduct my art business, painting and all, at the dining table. The mess of cords is horrific and it all has to be hidden when we have dinner parties (What a pain) But with a family of four crammed into less than 1000 sqft., I don’t see a solution. With the exception of a pricey home addition or a move!
Hand raised!
so you tuck all your peripherals away after use?
interesting concept and one that i should look at…
Jeff, I never open the cabinet at all unless I need to print or scan something, and even then it’s only a matter of opening one of the doors — no need to take anything out, I just flip down the paper tray. The router and Airport don’t need to be accessed, and the surge protector is mounted to the underside of the cabinet (I love Velcro!) in case I want to kill all of the power at once. The PS cabinet has cord outlets at the back, so it’s very easy to keep everything managed.
Lindsay, could you fit something like this in your dining room?
really great room you’ve got ! -my workspace shares room with our kitchen, and I really like that combo, not being able to have a room for only the office/studio which always is preferable.
Oh, this looks so lovely! So much better than our jumble of books and cords, and the fact that you don’t have to drag everything out to use it makes it sound very workable. Must look for one of those cabinets when I’m at Ikea (which is, unfortunately, about 200 miles away).
Ive seen that Ikea cabinet a thousand times and would never think they could house my printer and other ugly electronics. What a great way to hide it all away.
How do you handle the cables and plugs?
We have not an inch of space left for the ikea cabinet you recommended. Though, if we did it would be a good solution. I guess just buying a laptop would be the best solution, huh?
Lovely windows, light, floor and details!
So lovely! And seeing that chair and that Mac brings back memories of design class.
What a luxury… such a beautiful space! You have a beautiful home, I love the photos of your home… & the very cute Moomin figurine!
I have the smaller red versions of the PS cabinet as TV cabinets. I agree regarding design classic status!
Thank you for all the nice comments! So many new names here today. 🙂
mrslimestone: I used superstrong Velcro to attach a surge protector to the underside of the cabinet (outlet facing down). The electrical cords all come out of the outlet hole at the back of the cabinet and snake around the lower back edge and are plugged into the surge protector. I use cable straps inside the cabinet to manage the cables and cords so there’s not a bunch of excess slack to get tangled up. The printer is plugged into the Airport, so printing is all done wirelessly.
Lindsay: Have you seen the pictures of Lotta Jansdotter’s dining room from Blueprint magazine? It’s made from two layers of plywood with dividers in the middle to create storage space (the same concept shown here). Something like that wood be great for you! You could just shove a laptop, paper, paints, etc. inside the table when you want to clear everything out for guests.
What a beautiful space! It must be a joy to work at that desk.
I raise my hand too because I own a red one! What a lovely studio you have.
I raise both hands…Got 2 white cabinets…Love them and have them in my kitchen at the moment 😀
Nice blog…
Ok, I have no idea what airport is but if you can get your office looking so sleek and clean and have all the advantages of modern technology, I must have it!
This is an Airport! (Mine is an older model, though, and it looks like this.)
Hand raised … we store all our CD’s and DVD’s in it.
Hey, quick question.. I just bought the cabinet & realised I might be missing a part.. Cos I had a closer look at the display.. So did yours come with a wooden plank underneath the top shelf/part?
Thanks!
Fuzz, are you asking about the IKEA PS cabinet? If so, then no, there’s no wooden plank. The entire cabinet is made of sheet metal. It’s possible that the display you saw had a piece of wood added under the top for extra reinforcement, which might be necessary if something very heavy (like a TV) were to be placed on top.
It’s pretty rare for IKEA packages to be missing parts! 🙂
Yea, the cabinet with it’s own cult..
Thought so.. Glad that’s cleared up, thanksabunch..
Btw, did you fix any screws for added reinforcement?
There’s a lot of holes here & there but they just don’t seem to match! Haha…
Can you tell me about that calendar? it’s gorgeous. i love the size and typography!
Doris, that’s the Stendig calendar, designed by Massimo Vignelli.
Anna,
When you order the Stendig calendar, how is it shipped/packaged? Do they roll it into a tube or what? I’m just trying to work out if it’s going to be possible to get one sent down to Australia..!
Thanks
– A
Audrey: The calendar is packaged in a triangular tube by the manufacturer, but how it’s packed for shipping would depend on where you buy it from. I recommend you contact your source directly.
Lovely home. Most of all I love your storage solutions and how they not only blend well with your decor but also become a decorative item- love the comic book storage.
Question: I like the small white cube on wheels(?) underneath your desk. I’m looking for something about that size and was wondering where you got it? Thanks in advance.
Missy: That’s the Corras table from IKEA. It was discontinued a while back (I bought it about 8 years ago), but I think they have something similar in the kid’s department now.