Idle Chatter -- Flat Space, Secretaries, And A Chair -- April 8, 2018

The most important "thing" we have in our small (two-bedroom; 1,140-square feet) apartment is "flat space." My wife and I have projects of some nature going on all the time. We need a lot of "flat space": tables, buffets, desks, etc. In a very limited space, one solution is a fold-down desk. We recently purchased the 2018 Stickley "collectible": a secretary.

Here's our secretary:

In this weekend's edition of The Wall Street Journal, in the "Off Duty" section: "The State of the Secretary."

The secretary desk has waited patiently for us to notice its clever beauty again. Once rendered obsolete by the space demands of hulking desktop computers and printers, the quaintly compact desks with enclosed storage were stockpiled in attics and used-furniture store rooms. But the stars have aligned to bring these almost-antiques back to relevance.

“These vintage pieces are more modern than a desk these days,” said Los Angeles architect Raun Thorp. As more people store documents on a cloud and reduce their computer hardware to a laptop, big working surfaces have become the relics. “Secretaries are like a tiny multiuse building in a room,” said Ms. Thorp, who noted that their height can bring an unexpected dynamism to a room.

The modest scale of most vintage models, neither very deep or wide, makes them especially versatile. Richmond, VA, designer Janie Molster said of the chinoiserie-style piece she bought in her 20s, “I have used it in a bedroom, dining room, living room, kitchen and currently my foyer.”

The secretary’s lower drawers can store linens, photo albums or clothes; shelves above, usually enclosed by glass doors, can house books or display anything from pottery to Matchbox cars.

Rachel Cannon, a designer in Baton Rouge, LA, recently tucked one in a stair landing to create a miniature home office. Kari McIntosh, a designer in San Mateo, CA, used a contemporary West Elm model in a nursery-cum-office in her own two-bedroom apartment. 

I was deeply disappointed that Stickley Furniture was not mentioned in the WSJ article. I'm sure there are other furniture makers just as good but unlikely none better. 

From the linked WSJ article:

On another note, completely unrelated, having nothing to do with "flat space" or small apartments, just something my wife noted. Also, from The WSJ, on Friday:

That chair! We actually have that chair! The one at the front center of the photo above. I forget when/where we bought it. We had to have bought it while in the states prior to 1983, either in California or North Dakota. It's been with us through our thirteen years overseas with the US Air Force. It folds "flat." Not completely flat, but flat enough to lean up against the wall when not needed to save space.

Later: a big "thank-you" to a reader -- a link regarding the folding chair above.