A DESK FOR SOMEONE WHO HATES DESKS

All my life I've heard that you need to sit at a desk while doing work to be deemed fully productive. It has to comprise of a chair that drags back and forth or twists and turns or wheels up and down paired to a desk that faces the wall.

From a young age, we sit at a table. What is a desk but a table designated for carrying out work? We start out in our high chairs, graduate to our Montessori table, then our big girl tables in primary school, to eventually living out our lives in some office or make shift workspace of the sort, at our desks.

I started out doing homework at the dining room table. I hated that table. The edge would press into my chest. After three hours, my chest would grow sore, as a reminder that I completed my assignments for the night, to only repeat the process the following day. The table not only gifted me a sore chest but also love bites from mosquitoes, who danced in glee in the shade provided to them under that table.

Taking pity on me, as a result of my numerous complaints, my parents bought me a light brown, wood grain, desk and red swivel chair. I loved to twist and turn on that chair and roll myself from one edge of my room to the next. The desk setup was lovely, there were three drawers and a cubby. There was space for everything and then some. But alas, the mosquitoes greeted me as an old friend. My legs grew restless and I hated staring at that wall. The wall made me feel so confined, as if a stopper for my thoughts. I found myself slowly but eventually gravitating to doing work on my bed. There was space to spread all my books and I bought a clip board or used textbooks to press on. That was how I survived secondary school.

In university, I greeted the desk once again, as I now required a laptop more often. I encountered the same difficulties and gave my nemesis away. I purchased a laptop stand with fans to cool my laptop. I quickly adapted to my bed, the stand becoming a do everything on my laptop stand. Thus, my bed was my office.

With the pandemic, I continued the same. I met long work hours as a teacher. Sitting on my bed so the students may see my face. My back pain grew with every passing hour of the school term. I tried the couch for more support. The pain laughed at this adjustment, adding a little spice of not getting enough blood flow to my toes. I had to admit defeat and considered a desk.

I wanted a sofa in my bedroom for many years but never found one that could fit through my door frame. I considered the remedy to this being a recliner, as you can still put up your feet and relax with less dimensional considerations. That’s when the idea hit me. Why not use the recliner for both business and leisure? My imagination ran away with the concept of creating a desk on wheels where I can tuck it away when it’s not needed. It would be perfect! I could watch TV, read a book, relax, conduct classes, complete projects, and save space.

I purchased the recliner and got to sketching. I measured the recliner and tested the possible desk dimensions. I researched materials and costs. Solidifying my choice of materials, I opened my trusted Solidworks and created a simulation of the desk to verify its feasibility and render drawings of the design. I contacted a local sawmill for my teak posts of an unusual dimension and journeyed to various hardwares for supplies and materials.

The task of building was no small feat, as it was the first time I ever dabbled in carpentry. To save costs I used the table top of an old dining room table that my mother was saving for a possible creation. This saved costs but also became a road block when it was discovered to be thinner than it appeared. To supplement the sagging to the table, three planks of refurbished wood were used as braces to support the force on the surface.

After three weekends of trial and error. I was the new owner of a custom, functional, occasional desk. It fits my laptop, secondary monitor, stationary, charging station and much more, flawlessly. I could not be prouder to be able to say that just a thought that many doubted and could not bear to visualise, is now a reality that those very persons think is remarkable, fascinating and ingenious.

I am writing from that very desk today.

That just proves that “Everything you can imagine is real”

– Pablo Picasso

Always dare to imagine.

Click this link to view the desk: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM8oUC33M/