Office furniture

Jeff Horton

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The Heart of Dixie
I have wanted to redo my office since we moved in this house. The furniture I have does not match the house or each other. We built an Arts and Crafts style house and I have wanted that style in my Office but have never been able to come up with an idea.

While in Houston this last week my sister picked up a magazine for me that had lots of modern designed furniture in it. It inspired me and tonight I sat down and started sketching. To my surprise I came up with something I liked very quickly. The second version of the computer desk may just be winner!

The table is not original to me. One of the designs in the magazine is a dinning table and I just kept looking at saying that could be a desk really easy. Just scale it down some and add a shallow center drawer to it. My proportions and curves are off but I know what I want there.

The desk is for the computer. The CPU would be in one side and the printer would be in the other behind the doors. I would probably put a drawer in each one behind the door? I think this one is worth pursuing in SketchUp.

Scan10001.JPG
 
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:huh: Not following you Ned? There is no shelving under the desktop. Well there will be keyboard shelf. There is a shelf over the monitors, maybe that is what your seeing as desktop? I drew it so it makes sense to me. :)

Looking at it this morning and I still like it. (I usually change my mind) I am not a big fan of dark and light woods but I am think that this just might look good with walnut and something lighter like birch maybe.

Also just saw some Asian looking H shaped hinges that would look great on the doors. A&C style was often influenced by the Asian style.

If I just had a barn full of lumber!
 
Well I played around with this and had some more thoughts on it. Refined the idea and REALLY like the look of this. I will probably tweak it some more before I decide if I am going to build this. But I do like the look A LOT!!

I didn't get any response off my sketches. Maybe this will be easier to see what I had in mind.


desk.jpg desk2.jpg

Now to work on the desk.
 
Hi Jeff.

I know that you like woodworking talk and that you are quite a straitght forward guy so here are my thoughts.

I love your idea, but I think that you should work more on it because I see that a great design will come out of it.

On your original design you were taking advantage of all the surface of the table top, but being the sides closed the whole piece looks too big or massive, almost like an "armoire", so I would go for open sides as in #2 but with the shelves legs running parallel to the desk sides.

On the last one the fact that the legs of the shelf are resting on the top and offset from the sides are taking a lot of useful surface space that you will need eventually. Besides most of us would have a tendency to put things on the outer sides that eventually may fall off.

I would even retreat the front legs of the shelves placing them almost centered on the sides. Then you could use your sketched idea of the sides with curved legs prolongating the back and third one, or the two back ones up to make the shelves legs.

I believe that is this way the piece would look more like a "whole" instead of one piece put on top of the other.

I do not know if I'm conveying properly my thoughts, but I'm really excited about your project and I look forward to see its evolution.

I think that computer aided design is good but using it at early stages of the design makes things look "too finished" and hence preventing us to explore further, do not let that happen to your design, besides your hand sketching technique is good and it will be always faster than a PC to put ideas on the paper. Then you can refine them on the PC.

Well... once more I thing I got carried away sorry for boring you so much.
 
Good input Tony and some valid points. I find the CAD (sketchup) drawings easier for me to see and make changes. I am a very visual person. I can see thing on paper or on the computer screen. But what I find most useful for me about the 3D model is I can spin it and see it from different angles. I find things I might not find till I start building.

Often I alter my designs as I build. I just can't work from a detailed plan. I like to have my overall dimensions and few important things dimensioned but then I mock up and stand back and look. Mock up another piece and just 'look' at it. If it doesn't 'look' right I change it from what sketched till it does.

With the 3D model I can do the same thing over several days. I still make some changes when I build it, but I find it very close to what I want so it saves me time building.

On your original design you were taking advantage of all the surface of the table top, but being the sides closed the whole piece looks too big or massive, almost like an "armoire", so I would go for open sides as in #2 but with the shelves legs running parallel to the desk sides.

I didn't like the original the more I looked at it. To big and bulky looking. I loved the general idea but not the 'massiveness' of it. I like the oriental influences but that was to much like an Ikea box.

I also agree there is some wasted space on the desk top. Not a problem for the way I will use this. It will not be my primary desk, just a computer desk. I don't want a lot of space there as I tend to clutter it up. I will have a separate desk that will house most of my 'stuff'.

So I agree that the design is not quite right. When I was working on this model I was thinking of the Pagodas. That is where I got some of my inspiration. I have a couple of idea for the Shelf I want to try. And making it wider is one of the the things I want to do. Also thinking about extending the middle shelf outward too, so it more like the pagoda roofs.
 
jeff how do you porpze to hang your processr box's looks like they are cantilevering off the sides,, with the weight of the processors in there will that hold? also the ends look to be to plain,, need something to break up the wide feild of the side panels.. some type of center mullinor like you had sketched above the wedged tenon look?
 
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Have not thought that far ahead Larry. Just trying to get the look I want, then work out the construction details. Just off top of my head I could build a box behind the door. It could be part of or attached to the side and back. That would add a lot of rigidity.

I agree the side needs something. Probably do something like the door. I keep looking at that but have been concentrating on the shelves and getting them to look like I want.
 
Getting back to this. Refined the design a little.

I measured a few things and and got the sizes close to what I actual need. It's not exact but I never work with detailed drawings anyway. Give me some overall dimensions and I am good. I work out the details as I go.

Input welcome.

Time to start looking at book cases to replace what I have.

desk3.jpg desk4.jpg
 
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Hi Jeff.

Looks far better than before to me. It looks a lot lighter.
Have you foreseen anything for the wires; something like built-in sockets or similar?
 
Hey Jeff, this looks pretty slick.

But will your printer fit in that other cabinet? Must be a pretty skinny printer. Not a multifunction, I guess?

I don't see any speakers .. if you want to preserve desk space, why not mount them under the shelf, on either side of the monitors?

Personally, I hate keyboard drawers. I like my kbd on the main desk surface. For one thing it lets me put the mouse wherever I want. Unless you use a trackball, there isn't much mouse space in a keyboard drawer.

Given any thought to some pull out boards on either side? (under the desktop, but above the cabinets on either side of the knee gap) My brother put those in a desk he made for my wife 18 years ago, and we use them all the time. they're very useful.
 
Looks far better than before to me. It looks a lot lighter.
Have you foreseen anything for the wires; something like built-in sockets or similar?

Thank you Toni. And I have thought a little about cables. There will not be that much to deal with on top. Just four cables to the monitors. So a hole in the top or probably on the back leading into the CPU will take care of that. Will just tie them together to keep them neater looking. I don't mind organized cables showing, it's just a part of the having a computer.

As for power cords I have plenty of outlets behind the desk since we built this house.

Just realized that I had not thought about air to the CPU. I guess I could leave the back open, that would be the simplest thing. Or just open up a couple of holes and mount a fan to move the hot air out. Maybe cut the holes and then install a fan if it is needed.

But will your printer fit in that other cabinet? Must be a pretty skinny printer. Not a multifunction, I guess?

Large Laser printer but I am thinking about just leaving it out in the open on something yet to be designed. ;) I will install a file drawer and probably a couple of other draws in that space. That is one of the things I changed my mind about.

I don't see any speakers .. if you want to preserve desk space, why not mount them under the shelf, on either side of the monitors?

My current set are free standing and will sit on the desktop no problem. The Subwoofer will just sit in the floor out of site.

Personally, I hate keyboard drawers.

My current one is 30" wide +/- and I love it. It's wide enough for keyboard and mouse. I will size this one the same. I hate it when the mouse is on the desktop!! Totally useless to me. That also opens up a lot of desk space in front of me. I typically have a couple of documents there as I work.

Given any thought to some pull out boards on either side?

Not seriously because I have plans for a medium sized table as my main desk. This is intended to be more like a computer credenza I guess. But if I could eliminate that with some storage space somewhere else, then I might want to add that to this. Will give that some thought, but my fist instinct is to build a separate small desk. Of course it just ends up collecting clutter!
 
Will give that some thought, but my fist instinct is to build a separate small desk. Of course it just ends up collecting clutter!

No, no, no.... quite the opposite. Are you misunderstanding me?

I'm talking about those pull-out working surfaces. They're temporary by design. You pull them out to lay out some books or papers, then they slide away. They can't really collect clutter.

I couldn't find a photo on the web of what I mean on a regular desk.
Here is a compact corner computer desk I made for my wife a few years ago.
3.jpg
 
hey jeff, this looks great, i really like the overall design.

the only thing that catches my eye at the moment is that I liked the sides better before, as flat panels. i think it flowed better with the leg design. i personally think the panel design shown in the latest sketch takes away from the graceful curve of the legs.

either way it still looks great, so whatever you prefer is what you should do. after all, once it's built we'll probably see it once. you will see it everyday.

have you given anymore thought to wood choices? i think if you're going with walnut then you should at least consider maple. those two work so well together.

good luck, i look forward to seeing this one
chris
 
...They're temporary by design. You pull them out to lay out some books or papers, then they slide away. They can't really collect clutter...
I've got a steel desk at home (old government surplus) with two pull-out panels that would prove those statements wrong. ;) They've not been pushed in for years, since all the stuff that's on them would fall to the floor. :D In our house, any horizontal space is fair game, and seldom temporary.
 
I've got a steel desk at home (old government surplus) with two pull-out panels that would prove those statements wrong. ;) They've not been pushed in for years, since all the stuff that's on them would fall to the floor. :D In our house, any horizontal space is fair game, and seldom temporary.

well vaughn, he was refering to normal folks not blond haired geeks:rofl:
 
I've got a steel desk at home (old government surplus) with two pull-out panels that would prove those statements wrong. ;) They've not been pushed in for years, since all the stuff that's on them would fall to the floor. :D In our house, any horizontal space is fair game, and seldom temporary.
The rule for me has always been that junk will expand to fill whatever horizontal space is available.:thumb:
well vaughn, he was refering to normal folks not blond haired geeks:rofl:
well, there ya go. That explains it.:rofl:
 
looks like a good idea there jeff. i was going to post earlier, but internet service is spotty today because of the cold. i guess they didn't take minnesota into account when they started stringing fiber optic lines... :rofl:

when i get home tonight i'll upload the idea for the computer desk i'll be building.

dan
 
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