Workspaces, Office, man cave ideas

I haven't been able to post any new gadget blog type posts in a while. I'm finishing up closing a deal on a new house so my attention has been elsewhere. This leads me to this new post.

With a new house, this geek will probably have to shop for new furniture for his workspace(s).


I decided I will have to do two or three workspaces. One in a spare bedroom and one in the den. The den (which happens to be in the basement) will probably be kitted with cheap ikea galant desks and racks. It will be more of the entertainment, man cave room. It is next door to my storage and workshop so this is where all the work will be done in.

The main workspace will be integrated with the rest of the house. It will be where guests and clients will be around. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Our home will be a MCM (midcentury) decor so I have been hunting for furniture to reflect that. I want minimal, classic timeless pieces.

Here are a few MCM desks I've been looking at.

Oh boy. Those furniture are not cheap! I've been scouring craigslist, estate sales and original Paul McCobb or Lane Acclaim desks are still in the $$$ range. In San Francisco, a beat-up McCobb desk goes for $1200. Modern reproductions from boutique dealers can run up to $2,000. Almost ten times the cost of an Ikea Galant desk. Then you have chairs. I've been partial to classic Eames chairs and they are pricey. A plastic molded Eames with wooden dowel chairs start at $400. They look very chic and last generations. Designs that are over 60 years old and they still look modern.

So after a few months of furniture shopping, I'm exhausted. But there is hope and I'm narrowing down my choices. While the wife looks at the cookware and flatware, I'll be in looking at the office gear.

So stay tune. Here are some pictures for inspiration.

The Eames lounge, executive and office chairs are pretty stunning and timeless. Trust me, it is comfy. I'm definitely going to get the lounge and ottoman from Herman Miller.

This executive Eames chair is the same one used by Don Draper.

This one below is the more modern and typical Eames office chair in circulation.

The thing I've been noticing is a lot of interior designers and staged workspaces showcase a lot of Apple gear. The iMac is often the number one accessorized gear in any interior re-design remodel. So I guess my iMac will be serving the same purpose. I was trying to picture a three black Dell monitor setup on a Paul McCobb desks with an large black mid-atx tower next to it. That thought does not seem too appealing. I guess the three headed dell set-up will need to go into the basement office where it is not seen by guests.

So if you are looking to remodel your workspace, there are a lot of good resources on the net. Here are some I've bookmarked for myself:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/lifehacker-workspace-showandtell/
http://www.houzz.com/mid-century-modern-office

Lifehacker's Flickr workspace pool is pretty interesting because it shows real world, real people's home offices. I have to admit, I started to have a finer appreciation for my iMac after reviewing all the desks and setups. It really looks good and I am starting to acquire that appreciation for simplicity. I'm trying to figure out how to hide all the clutter and mess.