Help me hide my home office

March 4, 2006 6:41 PM

Where can I find a computer armoire designed for a laptop computer?

I have a home office in a corner of my living room. I'd love to be able to close everything up and hide the clutter and less pretty office items. None of the armoires I've found will work with a laptop -- they're all designed for desktop systems. I need a compact solution that takes advantage of my vertical space without protruding too far (depth-wise) into the living room. I've searched Ikea, all the office furniture chains and even department stores. I currently have a table and I'm contemplating simply putting up a wall cabinet. But I'd prefer something that closed up everything, out of view of my visitors -- and safe from my little one. Where can I find a home office furniture solution that meets my needs? I live in Canada, if that helps.

posted by acoutu to computers & internet (12 comments total)

Anthro's new e-nook has a stupid name, but seems totally, totally cool.
posted by The Bellman at 6:59 PM on March 4, 2006

Wow, that's pretty cool. Unfortunately, I need more space than that. I have a printer/fax, files, and a couple of books, and I need a little writing space. I actually work from home, so I need more than the average person with a home computer. Something like the e-nook, but bigger would be awesome. Great suggestion, though.
posted by acoutu at 8:16 PM on March 4, 2006

I should mention that, while I'm not particularly handy, I could go in for an Ikea hack.
posted by acoutu at 8:37 PM on March 4, 2006

...two e-nooks?
posted by disillusioned at 4:16 AM on March 5, 2006

Depth-wise, how many inches are we talking?
posted by Smart Dalek at 4:59 AM on March 5, 2006

It seems to me that some kind of drop-front secretary desk is a good idea. The Alve series at Ikea includes a couple of different options.
posted by mikel at 4:59 AM on March 5, 2006

The desk I have now is about 4'w x 2'd. Something with less depth would be good, but I could deal with something the same sise. It's mostly that I'd like to take advantage of vertical space, but I don't want open shelves. I could keep my existing desk and put something above it, even.

Thanks for the suggestion of the Alve. The problem is that it doesn't leave enough space for both a printer and a laptop.
posted by acoutu at 8:34 AM on March 5, 2006

If the Alve is too small, the Husar may be what you're looking for. It's about 2' x 3' and has lots of vertical cabinet space.
posted by bonehead at 9:18 AM on March 5, 2006

Some good friends of ours have this armoire from Crate and Barrel and love it. It has a lot of storage space and can be used with a desktop or laptop (look at the third picture--they show it being used with an iMac).

I know it's pricey, but the craftsmanship is excellent and the piece itself is beautiful. Crate and Barrel also has several other larger and smaller armoires built for hiding computers--browse their Furniture/Home Office/Desks and Armoires section of their website.
posted by richardhay at 1:57 PM on March 5, 2006

THose are both great suggestions, but they seem designed for desktops, putting the laptop too far up. However, maybe I could consider getting a cheap keyboard for the slideout tray. The Crate & Barrel is more what I'm looking for, but the cost of bringing it to Canada is exhorbitant. (Something like $500 for shipping and duty.)
posted by acoutu at 3:36 PM on March 5, 2006

If by "too far up" you mean that the keyboard is too high, that puts the screen about where your neck and shoulders will thank you for having it. If you're using a laptop for any length of time, you really should jack it up and get a separate keyboard for it.
posted by flabdablet at 5:41 PM on March 5, 2006

Room and Board has a great armoire designed just for this purpose. It's great.
posted by dvottero at 9:41 AM on March 6, 2006