As more and more people have transitioned to working from home — either permanently or in a remote-hybrid setup — many people have had to convert part of their living space into a home office. But that can be a challenge for those whose homes lack the space necessary for a full-on office. Product designers, however are rising to meet our collective lack-of-space challenge — and one, in particular, has crafted a desk that’s beautiful, practical and compact enough to fit in virtually any space.
It’s called the Flow Wall Desk, and when it isn’t being utilized for its intended purpose, you’ll likely struggle to picture it as a workspace. When not in use, the Flow Wall Desk sits flat against the wall, where it hangs as a piece of abstract art. Then, when you need to get some work done, all you need to do is pull the bottom of your mounted artwork away from the wall, then press the center of it back toward the wall. Like magic, a desktop unfurls, and all you have to do is pull up a chair and you’ve got what might just be the world’s most compact home office.
The desk was created by Red Dot Award-winning designer Robert van Embricqs, and its construction is simple, yet ingenious. The desk is crafted from a series of solid oak slats, a solid oak desktop, and a series of brass hinges and screws that allows for the desk to make its fluid transformation from vertical wall hanging to horizontal workspace. The desk itself only weighs around 30 pounds, but is sturdy enough to hold 40 lbs and measures 39.8”W x 22.1”D x 35.8”H when fully opened.
If you like van Embricqs’s aesthetic and cleverness, then you could conceivably fill your home with his designs. The Amsterdam-based artist offers other transforming, wooden-slat-based pieces for sale in his web shop, such as his Rising Chair, Rising Table and bowl-like Rising Shell. As for the Flow Wall Desk, you can buy that too. The desk starts at € 2.650,00 (~$2,909) in a natural oak finish, with pricier options available in walnut, black and the bi-colored “graphic black.”
