cross-posted on RyanAndShelsy.com
When we first moved into our apartment in Florida, we set up one of the bedrooms for my office, complete with computer desk and workbench. It was a good setup, but it left a little to be desired. So, several months ago, we got small couch to put in there, so Shelsy and the baby would have somewhere to sit. That worked well, but it still wasn't perfect. The biggest problem is that whenever Shels wanted to work on her computer, it required bringing in the laptop, plugging it in, then sitting with it on the couch. It worked, but it was far from ideal.
We discussed ways to rearrange the room to give Shelsy her own desk, but we couldn't come up with any good ways to make it work. Then inspiration struck. Taking design cues from one of Lifehacker's
featured workspaces (
more pictures here), we set out to make a dual-desk room.
We bought a second desk from Ikea, moved my workbench into the middle of the room, and made my old desk the workbench. The result is that my old desk is where the workbench was, and we now have two identical desks, back-to-back in the middle of the room. We moved them against the window and set up the computers facing outwards.
The couch got moved to the side so it faces into the room. And, viola! A dual desk office. As an added bonus, I tucked all the various cords and wires behind a cardboard shield attached to the desk legs. This, combined with a string of rope-lighting beneath the desk creates an awesome, confined, and safe play area for Amber to crawl around in while Shelsy and I work at our desks. We put some toys down there for Amber and she generally has a grand ol' time exploring. The subwoofer for our speakers is down there and she loves messing with the bass and treble knobs. :-)
The setup works surprisingly well and has been a major productivity boost. I definitely recommend this setup for anyone looking for a dual desk setup.
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