It might be a bit obvious when we say it out loud, but, in a room, furniture is both form and function. Most function is pretty straightforward. You sit in chairs. You write on desks. You look at clocks. There aren’t many curveballs coming from those. Form is where things can get a bit confusing. Things that look like they’d match end up disrupting the style of the room and pieces that look like complete opposites end up complimenting each other more than high school girls at prom.
Form is also where we wanted to lend our advice, since we assume most of our readers can hang things on a hook and turn on lamps. These are our picks for furnishing your office space like a true professional.
Conrad Desk
The Conrad Desk appeals to the part of us that loves the modernization of 1920s style. There are both modern and Prohibition era sensibilities about the desk and it’s easy to imagine Fitzgerald sitting down to write at a desk like this. It almost feels wrong to consider putting a computer on it. It made of a dark grain wood and is supported by thin metal legs, giving it an almost levitating look. It’s compact, it’s stylish, and it’s something we should probably stop looking at before we buy ten of them.
$ 1,495
Postalco X KM Wall Calendar
We’re never really sure if wall calendars are popular, but this one’s distinct enough that we don’t care. It’s a format we’ve never seen. Every month runs along the top row with the number of days laid out in columns underneath. We’re also big fans of simple fonts here and there’s something attractive about the look of the characters on this calendar. There’s also the manufacturer of the calendar. It’s made entirely in Japan and the style shows it. The paper’s well-crafted and pulls from Japanese tradition, so you know you’re getting something unique.
$9
Rouka Office Chair
In all likelihood, you don’t have a standing desk at home. In the office, maybe, but home’s where you get to put your feet up. The Rouka Office Chair combines brass and cushion to make a highly functional, comfortable chair that works well in an industrial setting, as well as mixing well with the other design aesthetics we have on this list. The brass is particularly interesting, as it can both stand out and blend in, depending on what you want or need it to do. It’s not a giant leather throne of power, but the Rouka Office Chair gives off some of the same impressions. The person in this chair is the one in charge.
$299
Mini Anglepoise Lamp
A quick trip to the archives inspired the Museum of Modern Art to produce this homage to the Original 1227™. The Mini Anglepoise Lamp is two thirds the size of what inspired it, but that just means there are more options for placement. It’s super poseable so no matter where you put it on your desk, it’ll be able to illuminate what you need it to. There’s a lot of similarities between it and a spotlight, too, so one can easily imagine the lamp helps with focus as well.
$250
Concrete Wall Shelf
Before all these concrete products started popping up (and we started selling a few), we never expected the construction material to be as fashionably versatile as it is. Durable, definitely, but not stylish. But the Concrete Wall Shelf from Lyon-Béton again proves that concrete fits in well a number of aesthetics. Gessato, the site selling the shelf, advertises how comfortably the concrete fits in minimalist, eclectic, and industrial styles. When it comes to usage, it is just a simple shelf, but as a functional accent piece, it’s one of those elements that has the potential to finish off the look you’re going for.
$99
Life in Progress Concrete Clock
The Life in Progress Concrete Clock is just begging for everyone to make a tired joke about your appointments being set in stone, and we guarantee they will. Hackneyed quips aside, the clock’s an attractive one. It fits in with almost any style, just like its companion concrete shelf, and there’s a surprising amount of thought put into the design of such a straightforward piece. The hour marks a reminiscent of a computer’s loading icon and the hands are a bright white that contrasts well with the gray of the concrete. It’s definitely a clock that will get, and keep, your guests talking.
$100
The Floyd Coat Rack
The Floyd Coat Rack is a great space-saving way to keep track of your coats, bags, hats, or whatever else you need to hang up. It assembles in seconds and, unlike virtually every other coat rack, it’s portable. But honestly, it’s not the most interesting thing on its page. We want to know more about the assembly video woman. As far as we can tell, she’s a bike-riding, yoga-doing runner who works in construction, is in love with a photographer, drinks hot chocolate exclusively on a bench next to her coat rack, and plays tennis in her bathrobe.
$145
Leather Wall Pocket
Bookshelves aren’t the only option for storing books and magazines. You can also use leather pockets. We’ll admit that sounds weird, but there’s a reason we stock these things. They’re one of those pieces that compliments a room’s already-present style. Dark colors and leather go well not only with each other, but with just about everything else in the room. Throw some light reading in here and you have a convenient place to store things you like to flip through when it’s time to give your brain a break.
$120
Maze
Mazes were the best part of diner placemats and it looks like they’ve grown up with us, making them perfect for wall art in our adult apartments (or houses, if you’re that adult). There aren’t any animals or athletes or aliens on this maze, just the singular challenge of finding your way through the complicate twists and turns of one of our favorite types of brainteasers. The website claims there’s more than one way to solve the maze, so it’s good for more than one pass. It’s also all hand drawn, so you’re getting the results of hours of human handiwork, not the printout of an algorithm. It also comes in a bunch of different colors, so find the one that fits what you already have.
$79
Industrial Modular Lateral File
From what we’ve seen, there hasn’t been a ton of innovation for the filing cabinet in a long time. They’re almost exclusively large, noisy, metal, heavy, intrusive cabinets that you have because you need them, not because you want them. The Industrial Modular Lateral File finally provides another option. It’s made of solid mango wood and is supported by a black finished metal frame. It’s not huge, but in a home office or study, you don’t have the paperwork that a corporate giant produces anyway. There should be plenty of space. Overall, it looks more like a fashionable dresser than a place you’d keep tax documents.
$699
Clip Tree Valet
This coat rack’s more permanent than the one we talked about earlier, with the added bonus of more functionality. The Clip Tree Valet is customizable, since clips and their placement are up to you. There are hooks, hoops, bowls, mirrors, pegs, and trays for holding coats, hats, scarves, keys, cell phones, wallets, and really anything you carry with you on a day to day basis. It can also be used in the bathroom, holding soaps, towels, washcloths, razors. Again, anything you need, it’s up to you.
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