Home-Office Storage That Brings Comfort And Order
Here are five suggestions—some cheerful, some earthy, that soothe as well as organize
3 min
SOME OF US have never committed to properly outfitting a home office, pressing into service random hand-me-downs and college leftovers. But if, as seems likely, the future of toil includes some form of working from home, the need to store suffocating piles of work-related ephemera more elegantly can’t be ignored. Juliana Lima Vasconcellos, an architect and interior designer in Rio de Janeiro, finds that clients prioritize calm in their home workspaces. So we found cabinets with soothing good looks, most of which can tuck under your desk and replace the anarchy of folders and envelopes stashed there.
A Plum Job
Originally designed in 1994, Kartell’s Italian-made rollable storage features drawers of recycled plastic for eco-conscious home-office workers. Its painted-metal hardware and frame limn a chic, monochromatic silhouette, while three new colours help you escape the grayscale doldrums of standard-issue office furniture: pale blue, pale green and this rich, jammy plum. “Orange, red and other warm colours will bring comfort,” Ms. Vasconcellos said. Kartell Matte Mobil 3 Drawer Storage with Wheels, about $829, Kartell.com
A Sturdy Supporter
The boxy utility of Room & Board’s file cabinet is offset by its earthy hue and on-trend matte-lacquer finish. “This is an elegant colour. I think it would be beautiful in a room with a lot of wood,” Ms. Vasconcellos said of the Copenhagen File Cabinet in sage. The case, made of medium-density fiberboards (MDF), can be furnished with casters or a steel base. Jenon Bailie, director of merchandise and design at Room & Board, said, “My daughter just got one that she uses at college as file storage and as a nightstand.” $972, RoomAndBoard.com
A Natural Selection
Ms. Vasconcellos’s favourite of the bunch, this Indonesia-constructed file cabinet, with its oak veneer and grasscloth-fronted drawers, brings nature back into the home, an aesthetic move desired by many of her clients today. Sebastian Brauer, vice president of product design and development at Crate & Barrel, praises the “casual, laid-back look” of the cabinet. At 30 inches tall, it might not fit under a desk, but its finer proportion lets it easily double as a living-room side table. Granger Small Natural Oak File Cabinet, $694, CrateAndBarrel.com
Oaky Add-On
Ms. Vasconcellos advises pulling colours and textures from other rooms into the home office; if wood textures your home, this 90-pound, oak cabinet fits that bill. Exposed end-grain on the edges of drawer-fronts and at the top’s joinery adds a rugged Scandinavian flavour, as do the cut-out pulls. Soft-close drawers, a bonus for those who seek calm in the midst of family chaos, ensure that the cabinet is thoroughly of its time. Tygan Filing Cabinet, $1788, LuluAndGeorgia.com
Primary-Colour Cubby
The director of merchandising at MoMA, Emmanuel Plat wanted the museum’s store to offer an organizer that could “integrate really easily into people’s spaces, something that didn’t come across too office-y,” he said. With elementary-school ease, the powder-coated-steel components—azure body, clear-white drawer faces and RYB handles—brighten any decor, all while stowing your pesky desk-top detritus. Bonus: Each drawer’s pull coordinates with its interior, a win for colour-coding fiends. Poppin Stow 3-Drawer File Cabinet, $415, Store.Moma.org
Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: Feb 25, 2022.
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Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
< 1 min
A water lily painting by Claude Monet of his Giverny gardens is expected to achieve at least US$65 million at Christie’s November sale of 20th-century art in New York
Le bassin aux nymphéas, or water lily pond, painted around 1917 to 1919, is a monumental canvas extending more than six-and-a-half feet wide and more than three-feet tall, that has been in the same anonymous private collection since 1972. According to Christie’s, the painting has never been seen publicly.
The artwork is “that rarest thing: a masterpiece rediscovered,” Max Carter, Christie’s vice chairman of 20th and 21st century art said in a news release Thursday.
A first look at this thickly painted example of Monet’s famed and influential water lily series will be on Oct. 4, when it is revealed in Hong Kong.
The price record for a Nymphéas painting by Monet was set in May 2018 for Nymphéas en fleur, another large-scale work that had been in the collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller. That painting sold for nearly US$85 million.
The current work for sale is guaranteed, Christie’s confirmed. The auction house did not provide further details on the seller.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
