by Nicole Jordan
When I was between the ages of three to six, one of my favorite stores to visit was, drum roll please, a furniture store. It wasn't even a fancy one. All they sold were basic cabinets, dressers, bed frames, and desktops. The place was poorly lit and had a really ugly carpet and cinder block walls, making it hard for a potential customer to appreciate the available products. But my toddler eyes saw past all of this once I laid eyes on an oak roll top desk. I was fascinated by the storage capacity that all of the nooks and crannies offered and thoroughly amused by the sound the horizontal wood slats made as they slid down over the desk top. I would repeatedly beg my parents to walk me into the furniture store to visit my dream desk. (I know, I was a weird child!) In second grade, when I was finally old enough for a "grown-up" bedroom, I asked for a roll top desk. It was fantastic. I would spend my afternoons reorganizing my books and knick-knacks after school. It was better than playing dress up.
As I've grown, I realized that my love for a roll top desk may lie more in the physical beauty of it rather than its practicality. The particular desk that I own (pictured below) is only capable of holding one open book at a time or my laptop. It's not a space that is conducive for spreading out books and papers. As a result, my desk has become a storage unit. While it serves a great purpose as bookshelf/printer holder/knick knack storage unit/ vanity and cat bed, I would like to replace it with a more functional piece whose sole purpose is to be a desk. Parting with my current desk will be difficult no doubt, but I'm confident that redesigning my work space will enable me to be more productive and creative when it comes to working professionally and academically.
Here are a few workspaces that are open and minimalistic in design but have pops of color that give the space a bit of life.
As I've grown, I realized that my love for a roll top desk may lie more in the physical beauty of it rather than its practicality. The particular desk that I own (pictured below) is only capable of holding one open book at a time or my laptop. It's not a space that is conducive for spreading out books and papers. As a result, my desk has become a storage unit. While it serves a great purpose as bookshelf/printer holder/knick knack storage unit/ vanity and cat bed, I would like to replace it with a more functional piece whose sole purpose is to be a desk. Parting with my current desk will be difficult no doubt, but I'm confident that redesigning my work space will enable me to be more productive and creative when it comes to working professionally and academically.
Here are a few workspaces that are open and minimalistic in design but have pops of color that give the space a bit of life.
Here is what my current desk looks like, below. I thought it would be nice to share a brief history and description of the roll top desk Oddly, eBay published this lovely little statement about them. I hope you enjoy this fun fact as much as I did.
"The roll top desk enjoyed its greatest popularity from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The style is descended from the cylinder desk, which featured one piece of carved wood that slid in a fixed track to cover the desk. Cylinder desks were expensive and rare because it was hard to shape the wood perfectly and prevent it from warping over time, but the horizontal slats of the roll top desk made it easy to manufacture on a mass scale. The roll top desk fell out of favor around WWI; various sources blame its tendency to collect stacks of paper or a trend toward increased teamwork at conference tables. But demand for these classically stylish desk is ongoing, as demonstrated by the vast inventory of roll top desks listed on eBay." |
// Photos via Alvhem, Apartment Therapy, dk3, Est Living, Frenchy Fancy, Modern Finding, and Nalles House. Graphic design by Nicole Jordan.
Tags: by Nicole, Design, Home, Office
Tags: by Nicole, Design, Home, Office