Room for Improvement: Solving the desk dilemma
February 25, 2009
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Denise Holtby
YOURHOME.CA
It's been an interesting and busy week for Room for Improvement.
Son Scott came home for reading week with just one request: "Please don’t make any plans for me." While his housemates and others were taking off on skiing or beach vacations, Scott just wanted some downtime to catch up on his reading and his sleep.
I dutifully promised no plans, except for just one little thing: would he help move the large pieces of furniture out of the office when the time came, please?
But Scott's a neat and orderly type, so helping us get organized is something he really can't resist. So a few days later, when the time came to clean out the last of the clutter, he was there to lend a hand, even though we hadn’t asked him to help.
Afterward, Dean, Scott and I were sitting around chatting and the talk turned to what to do about our desk problem. When we moved into the house, the desk had to come in through a window because it was so huge. But that was in May, not February. Taking out a window to move a desk isn't a wintertime job.
But Scott's a smart young man who can put a lot of effort into thinking about how to avoid effort. He had an idea. Since we were unlikely to find a buyer for the desk and putting out a curb alert didn't make sense due to the weather, why not just use a chainsaw and take it out the door in pieces?
To my surprise, Dean agreed. Not to the chainsaw, mind you, but to the idea of dismantling the desk. Being the practical, green kind of guy he is, however, he wanted to keep the large 34" w. x 60" l. x 2" h. desktop for some future use.
That’s when I had… drum roll, please… "THE IDEA."
Why not cut the desktop in half lengthwise and "upcycle" it into a built-in work surface for our office overhaul? In other words, recycle it by turning it into something even better than what we started with originally.
All we need to do is support the desktop with legs at the front, attach it to the wall at the back, and voila, a nine-foot long, side-by-side work surface. Add a couple of sliding keyboard holders, a filing cabinet and a stand for the CPU and we're good to go.
Of course, writing about it is the easy part. Dean is the one who will have to come up with a way to make it work, but I know he'll do a great job. He always does.
Stay tuned to see how it turns out!
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(Editor’s note: Get your own home office inspiration from Colin and Justin and Debbie Travis, along with some tips on office essentials and easy office crafts.)
Catch up on Room for Improvement's office overhaul:
- Time to test 'green' paint
- Dean does IDS
- Looking for inspiration
- Time for an office overhaul
- Of reader polls, antiques and home offices
- What's next for Room for Improvement?