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Design

Power Couples: Desks and Office Chairs

  • Emily Henderson For Byline Head
by Emily Henderson | 4.10.17
38

Happy Monday Folks, we are back to our regularly scheduled design content after a big recap of everything that happened at Round Top last week and we have some very fun content coming up for you this week including some updates at my house, some reveals, and today we are starting it off with another edition of Power Couples. We’ve had multiple requests for desk and chair combos and although we can’t guarantee that they will make your work week easier or more productive (hello Monday) we can promise that they will make it a lot more pretty.

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So whether you are looking for a party space like my friend Jen’s office from Ban.do, or something more eclectic and collected like Sally Breer’s office that we shot for the book, we have pulled together some of our very favorite combos in every style and price range. With each of these combos we had a few rules. 1) the desk had to be at least 12″ deep so that you could work at it with a laptop (although most are deeper), 2) the chair had to either swivel or roll – or both, 3) the desk had to have some form of storage so that it wasn’t just a table. Although we did make an exception to that rule on two of the combos below as they were just too pretty not to include.

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1. Washed Wood Desk & Argo Desk Chair | 2. Harrison Desk & White and Gold Desk Chair | 3. Hackett Writing Desk & Sherpa Armless Chair | 4. Dover Desk & Slope Leather Office Chair | 5. Aroma Desk & Platt Desk Chair | 6. Wellington Writing Desk & Mid Back Desk Chair | 7. Mid Century Mini Desk & Soho Desk Chair | 8. Mid Century Desk & Patrik Chair | 9. Highland Desk & Slope Leather Office Chair | 10. Raba Desk & Alessa Leather Desk Chair | 11. Industrial Storage Desk & Kalmer Desk Chair | 12. Anna Midcentury Desk & Coup Teal Office Chair | 13. Lacquered Regency Desk & Kell Desk Chair | 14. Real Material Hide II Desk & Trailblazer Airgo Chair | 15. Wood and Metal Teagan Desk & Neo Leather Wingback Office Chair | 16. Allen Writing Desk & Aluna Upholstered Office Chair | 17. Salma Writing Desk & Bentwood Office Chair | 18. Catalonia Desk & Dawson Ridge Swivel Desk Chair

I am loving #2 if you are looking for a glam/midcentury look, although I will caution you with white chairs as we have something very similar in our studio, our jeans have started to turn them blue a bit. Nothing a quick cleaning can’t fix but something to be aware of. If you are trying to be budget friendly then #17’s parson inspired desk is a steal at $63, and don’t worry we have 16 more below for you, we just split it into two roundups to make navigating back and forth between pictures and links a little more simple.

1. Modern Desk & Plaid Desk Chair | 2. Rubbed Black Quade Desk & Victor Swivel Office Chair | 3. Adam Court Console & Kinney Velvet Desk Chair | 4. Lindsey Desk & Mid-Back Desk Chair | 5. Cubist Oak Metal Writing Desk & Oma Egg Chair | 6. Parker Desk & Neo Upholstered Wingback Chair | 7. Amica Desk & Mid-Back Leather Desk Chair | 8. Lillasen Desk & Langfjall Swivel Chair | 9. Salma Mosaic Storage Desk & Kinney White Mongolian Lamb Desk Chair | 10. Fitz Desk & Rouka Grey Charcoal Office Chair | 11. Garrison Turned Leg Farmhouse Writing Desk & Helvetica Leather Office Chair | 12. Parsons Desk & Nash Leather Swivel Desk Chair | 13. Penelope Mini Desk & Kinney Desk Chair | 14. Romy Storage Desk & Bucket Seat Desk Chair | 15. Channing Writing Desk & Bond Leather Swivel Office Chair | 16. Colette Desk & Natural Elsie Upholstered Office Chair

If traditional is your vibe then try out #6 or #16, if your looking for something for a small space try out #13, and if you are trying to keep your pocketbook happy then #8 is a simple and modern option.

So what are your favorites? Have you tried any of these out before or is there anything we should know about any of the pieces we pulled together? Let us know below and let us know what you want to see next.

***Photography by Tessa Neustadt and David Tsay

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43 thoughts on “Power Couples: Desks and Office Chairs”

  1. These are some great combos. I love number 8 in the first set: It’s mid century and stylish without being over the top and it’s functional with its three drawers.Thanks for these types of posts. Can’t wait to see the updates to your home!

  2. Thanks for doing a round up of office chairs and desks! I was one of the people asking for this and I appreciate the EH team listening to to the readers requests. Keep up the good work!

  3. Have you looked into variable height or standing desks at all? Are there any that aren’t heinous? My company will pay for one as a health benefit but I haven’t yet found one that I’m willing to bring into my home (I work from home).

    1. A lot of them are heinous. Very much “ergonomic” looking.
      There are some DIY / Ikea Hacks that look better.

      I ended up just having a desk (West Elms parsons) and a standing height credenza that I can use as a place to stand with my laptop.

    3. The only one I’ve found that I like the look of is Pottery Barn’s printer desk. I tried it out in the store – the height adjustment is really smooth and easy (my 4 year old son could do it easily). I couldn’t pull the plug bc of the price, but if it were on someone else’s credit card, I totally would. Check it out! http://www.potterybarn.com/products/crank-standing-desk/?pkey=e%7Cprinter%2Bdesk%7C114%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C48%7C%7C12&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH

  4. Honest question – does anyone use or like office chairs without arms? I feel like those would make my arms EXHAUSTED…(or is that just me with apparently weak heavy arms?) it’s for this reason that i also like padding on the arms. I actually have one very similar to #7 in the second group but with padded arms, from Amazon, $140, and I’ve been very happy with it, but full disclosure I spray painted the bottom matte black as the shiny silver didn’t match my room’s aesthetic. Quick/cheap/easy fix.

    1. My office chair doesn’t have arms and I honestly never even thought about it. I think I prefer no arms because I like to sit cross legged sometimes (real professional) and I don’t think I could do that if it had arms.

  6. A piece of advice for anyone 5’3″ or under who spends a lot of time at a desk: PETITE OFFICE CHAIRS EXIST! I switched to a petite chair last year (paired with an adjustable Bekant desk from Ikea, which can go lower than lots of other desks). It made such a difference for my back and wrists. Most high end office furniture companies make petite sizes, but you can also find less expensive pieces if you search Wayfair, Amazon, etc. Wish I had known this 15 years ago, so just spreading the word.

  7. There are some amazing combinations here! I really love having a large desk with chairs on both sides. It makes a space feel more inviting and even if I am working alone it always makes me feel as though there is a prospect of someone coming to distract me! I also adore having a swivel chair; it keeps me from getting up and walking around when I am stumped on work. Instead I just swivel around a bit!

  10. I definitely like 16 and 11. Although, I really like to get an antique piece and make work as a desk. I have a piano desk that I use for makeup and as a writing/computer desk in my room. Would love some tips on desk styling too 🙂

  11. ? all these are too little for my massive PC rig and dual monitors. Sigh. So hard to find something beautiful and huge and priced just right. I do love these combos though. Would be a nice addition to a guest room.

    P.S. have you all ever done a ceiling fan round up? They are the bane of my existence.

    1. We had a custom desk made for us from someone on Etsy. I do recommend poking around there to see if anyone in your area can make an attractive desk to your size specifications.

  12. Where is the blue/cream/gold chair in the very first picture from?? It’s amazing!?

  14. Very nice collection! I am am construct a new house for this purpose i need some necessary furniture.Can you tell me what is these prices and how can i buy

  15. This may be the kick in the pants I need to finally get my office cleaned out so that I can get new furniture. I love that the desks I love are matched with a chair very similar to the one I already own (that I also love). I guess I’m on the right track!

  16. My ongoing issue – these look great, but my amazing boyfriend is a nerd who games, i.e., we have an ACTUAL computer tower/PCU sooooo for those of us without sleek Apple computers, where or how do we hide the ugly tower??

    1. I gave up on that one! We bought a desk that’s a bit taller and the tower fits under it so it’s less noticeable. But otherwise the pile of cords and the bulky plastic tower are blatant and hideous.

      1. I’ve been searching for the same thing for years, and am about to pull the trigger on something simple & custom for a tower setup. Half of these desks don’t even have keyboard trays. Ergh.

  17. I would totally go for #15 of the second set. What a pretty lucite table and the leather contrasts so well!

  19. I love the look of these combos but who spends $900 on a desk chair?! That’s just crazy business.

    1. You will very surprised Christina. Specially if it is a ergonomic chair people even spend more. After all you are investing for your health.

  22. Great combos! My husband is now looking for a desk chair that doesn’t roll and that “looks like a dining room chair”. He wants it fabric, he doesn’t want nailhead trim, and it has to be comfy. He’ll be the death of me! Right? I can’t complain too much, though, since his desk is in our livingroom and he is the one asking for an attractive chair…

  23. Thanks for doing a round up of office chairs and desks! I was one of the people asking for this and I appreciate the EH team listening to to the readers requests. Keep up the good work!

  24. Always love these power couple posts. Can you do one for entry ways and using non-entry way tables as a feature?

  25. Hey Emily! I’d love a post for a home office with double desks. My husband works from home and I do some freelance work nights and weekends and I want to renovate one of our spare bedrooms into an office, but I don’t want to share a desk! I LOVE your studio desks from All Modern but at about 1k each, they’re a little out of my budget. Would love to see something like this post but for those power-work-at-home couples 😉 I know you’d have some amazing ideas! XO

  26. can I please ask where that gorgeous ribbed glass chandelier is from in the second image?! beaut.

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