Whether you love it or loathe it, WFH, be it full-time or for part of your week, has become the norm these days. When we all realized it was here to stay, lots of us turned to the big interior design trends to make our home office a more permanent and stylish space. Roll on 2024, though, and this new trend is going to make you want to give your WFH space a whole new look.
Livingetc.com editor, Hugh Metcalf, predicts that 'we’re at the end of the home office layout with the desk pushed firmly up against the perimeter of the room'. Sat facing the wall all day isn't the best recipe for productivity and creativity, but it can be tricky to make a rectangular desk work in the middle of a room if you've not got much space.
Enter the curved desk - 2024's biggest home office trend which will revolutionize your work space. Here, our editor and three interior designers tells us why they love this new trend.
1. It's Fun and Unexpected
Berkeley Minkhorst and Kelley Lentini of House of Nomad say that they 'love designing with curves because they feel more interesting and fun'. A curved desk is a great way to add an unexpected touch to your home office space, whilst still offering the full practicality of a traditional rectangular desk. 'Offices can often feel super serious but with everyone spending more time WFH why not have a little fun,' say Berkeley and Kelley.
This walnut curved desk from Noir was chosen for a recent design project that Berkeley and Kelley worked on. With a mid-century look, the designers describe it as a 'warm and inviting' addition to the room. As far as different desk ideas go, a curved desk like this one is a great way to play with the angles of a room and offers a good contrast with any softer furnishings around it.
2. It Makes the Most Of Smaller Spaces
If you've got a small home office, then a curved desk could be the perfect solution for you. If you have a rectangular desk in the middle of your home office and space is tight, 'you’ll find yourself creeping round the edges and end up with a room that doesn’t flow very well,' says Hugh.
Interior designer Alykhan Velji found exactly that when he recently renovated his new home. 'There were some changes that had to be made during the renovation process so the office was made a bit smaller than expected. This made it a bit tight for us to put in a rectangular desk,' he says. He hunted around to find the perfect curved desk that would allow the space to flow better while still providing plenty of surface space for working. As a fan of mixing the old with the new, when Aly stumbled across this wooden desk, he knew it was 'just right' for the room.
3. The Desk Surface Is So Convenient
Not only does a curved desk give you a little more space in the room to move around, having the desk surface wrap around you makes it a nice choice for convenience. 'They're less linear, and more enveloping. It means you have a better reach to things on your desk and not just what's directly in front of you which makes you feel like you've got everything you need to hand,' says Hugh.
