This piece hits home. Why? Well, because it’s our home.
When you have a small house, you need furniture that is simple, multifunctional, but is also beautiful. In this case, our small office is only 11’x10′ and is used as a music room, office, storage, and playroom simultaneously. There used to be a desk for the computer on the main wall and on the opposite wall lived the piano with other musical instruments. Office storage and some toys occupied the corners, while music accessories were stored in another room. The floor space became minimal due to so much clutter.
Bottom line: this room was crowded, un-inspirational, and an eyesore.
We needed a solution!
We had the idea of combining the computer workspace with the music workspace. We hoped to gain half our room back, make a multi-fuctional work area, and create an open and inspiring room.
How did we do that?
We first mocked up some ideas of how to work the space but had some concerns about the reality of a desk being able to do what we wanted it to do.
Our first major concern was finding a way to store and use the piano on a drawer without any concern if the drawer would fall, bend, or rack when being pushed and pulled. This piano is 57″ long and weighs 60lbs; it’s a beast! Nothing we could find in-store anywhere local was able to accommodate the size and weight. Step in Accuride, a top-of-the-line storage solutions company creating quality and innovative solutions for just a moment like this. They provided us with their Accuride 3160EC Easy-close Undermount Slide. It supports up to 100lbs, up to 60″ wide and this piano slides in and out from under the desk with ease, even with one hand! Mind blown.
Our second concern was with the desk storage drawers. We didn’t want this to look like standard cabinetry and anyone with kids knows, handles on doors and drawers just beg to be opened by those curious and destructive little hands. With equipment and small items stored in the drawers, we didn’t want the drawers to be an open invitation, so we hoped we could find a solution for four handle-less drawers that open with touch release. Again, Accuride to the rescue. The top drawer is equipped with an Accuride 3832ETR Light Duty Full-Extension Enhanced Touch-Release drawer glide. The bottom three drawers are equipped with Accuride 3832EHDTR Heavy Duty Full-Extension Enhanced Touch Release drawer glides. These drawers are AMAZING. The touch release is sturdy, doesn’t rack, can be touched from any point on the drawer (not just center), and has a light click to confirm when locked back in place. The kids haven’t once tried to open the drawers and without handles, it looks clean and sleek.
One of the last concerns we had was the actual size and bulk of this desk. It needed to be sturdy to support the weight and function but we didn’t want a bulky piece of furniture in our small room. Placing the drawers on the wall side and making the other side of the desk open with a painted steel leg was the perfect balance and makes the desk feel smaller than it is. The choice to use a lighter wood, Ambrosia Maple, reflects more light and visually makes the desk look smaller. A talented, humble local-metal worker, who is shying away from being credited, created the leg for us.
The desktop is finished with Osmo Polyx-Oil #3054, a finish we have been so happy to discover. It’s smooth, matte, and cleanable finish doesn’t feel sticky or leave scratches. This has quickly become one of our favorite finishes for all kinds of projects!
The desktop sits at 92″ long (just over 7.5ft) by 25.5″ deep.
