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Studying the perfect desk |
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Written by Nzong Xiong, McClatchy-Tribune
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Friday, 13 April 2007 |
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Lynda Henricy of Fresno, Calif., searched for four years for the perfect desk to install in her home office — one where she and her two children could work at the desk together but that also would fit the home's decor.
"It was actually hard" to find a suitable desk, says Henricy, 44, who owns a construction company. "It took me years to buy. I wanted something decorative."
At some of the office furniture stores, "you see something you might see in a cubicle, and that's not something I wanted to put in my home office."
In December, she finally found a desk that filled her wishes: a decorative partner's desk that allows for two people to work opposite each other while sitting at the desk.
"I love it," she says. "It's great."
Many stand-alone desks at home can be used for conducting business or just writing checks for a son's college tuition, but not all desks may fit each home. Some people want desks to be useful and to look like they belong in the house.
Stand-alone home desks can share space in living rooms, dens or multimedia rooms, or they can be used in home offices.
"People are looking for decorative desks they can move into the office or the bedroom," says Joseph Sandoval, an interior designer at Thomasville Furniture in Fresno.
Wherever they may go, some features are often requested. One feature is pull-out trays for computer keyboards, says Shirley Matsuzaki Hays, a Fresno interior designer. "Most will use a computer, so they will need a keyboard tray," she says.
Another request is "enough work space," she says. "Some people don't need a lot (of room), but some people lay out a lot of paperwork."
Some extras that might come with some desks, especially built-in wall desks, include hidden power strips and slide-out boards for laptops or more writing space.
"Most of the time, it's function and then design" that clients want, says Hays, who owns Matsuzaki Interiors.
Wood is still the choice material for desks. It can fit into a variety of decor styles, from contemporary to traditional. Cost of decorative wood desks can start at $800 to $900; Henricy's desk was about $900.
Henricy's father, Curtis Cole of Fresno, bought his desk, and other furniture pieces, in San Francisco in 2003. At the time, the now-retired attorney was still working, but did it from the comfort of his home office.
"It's a nice office, so yes, I wanted something nice" for a desk, says Cole, 73.
The traditional-style wood desk with a dark finish includes two filing drawers and a slide-out board. Because his wife has a retail license, the desk was discounted and cost him about $1,200.
"I looked at desks that were $7,000 and more, but this one looked user-friendly," he says.
Hays' desk isn't quite as functional, but it does make a statement. In 1992, she designed a 30-inch-by-60-inch glass-top desk with steel legs and had a local metal shop build it.
"It hasn't been the most practical, but it works for me," says Hays, who works from home. "It gives me a big work surface."
As for why she opted for a glass top, "I wanted something a little different, a little more feminine," she says.
"It would make a great desk for correspondence. In a home office, it would work beautifully."
But for a business desk, it doesn't have any storage, drawers or a keyboard tray, she says.
She doesn't remember how much she paid for it, but some local furniture stores carry or can order a small selection of glass top desks. For example, Thomasville in Fresno has a glass-top desk with a wood-and-polished nickel base. It costs $2,099.
"Glass and metal (desks) are new, but not as functional," Sandoval says.
While having storage and drawers were important, Scott "Dusty" Guthier of Madera, Calif., let the style and interior decor of his home guide him in his search for a desk.
"We just built a home, and it's an Old World, Tuscan-style home," says Guthier, 41, store manager at Barnes & Noble in Fresno. "So the pieces I wanted in the home, I wanted them to fit that style."
He spent about a year searching and found a distressed, dark-wood executive desk he liked at Interior Imports about two months ago. The desk, which costs about $2,000, includes a file drawer, a keyboard drawer and an attached electrical outlet strip.
The desk is in the home office, which has a bay window that faces the foothill mountains, hand-plastered walls, and arched windows and door frames.
"The piece fits in just fine," he says. "It was the style, the look, we were looking for." | Only registered users can write comments.
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