In Search of the Perfect Desk

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It’s out there, somewhere. And I will find it.

It’s a desk that fits me perfectly, that encourages me to sit down to get on with some work. It’s beautiful, practical and somehow has a positive environmental impact. Beyond those criteria, I’m easy – urban or rustic, antique or modern, I’ll try anything.

My first bet is usually second-hand furniture, because it’s recycling – not just of materials but of stories, every polished scratch becoming a trigger for my imagination. But then there’s the appeal of the shiny and new (hey, I’m a guy, what can I say). I love Hudson Furniture‘s huge tables – but they’re not exactly practical for a study or library, both of which my dream house contains.

 

How about the Kidney Shaped Desk from John Wiggers? Sustainable Hawthorn polished like glass and topped with nonslip black leather, in a long chair-hugging curve. You can tell Mr. Wiggers is itching to use the word "ergonomic". But no…that super-slick wood’s not quite me.

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Now, my Inner Geek backflips when I see the SOLo Lounge Table. Ultra-modern and on wheels, it’s inset with solar panels that can soak up enough energy to recharge your laptop 3 times every day. Wheel it around, take it on holiday (nothing about how much it weighs?) – it’s an impressive display of practical alternative energy, and anything that weans us off the grid gets my thumbs-up. But it looks…..a bit too modern for me. Call me old-school. Oh, and it’s $14,000.

I’ll just have to keep looking. Unless you have any suggestions?

Mike Sowden

Mike Sowden is a freelance writer based in the north of England, obsessed with travel, storytelling and terrifyingly strong coffee. He has written for online & offline publications including Mashable, Matador Network and the San Francisco Chronicle, and his work has been linked to by Lonely Planet, World Hum and Lifehacker. If all the world is a stage, he keeps tripping over scenery & getting tangled in the curtain - but he's just fine with that.