Office

Cord Management

I posted a a video of Eleanor crawling last month, and a few people had asked about the cords under my desk. Normally you can’t see them, but they were visible because I was filming while sitting on the floor.

Cord Management

I used IKEA’s SIGNUM cable management, installed on its side to leave clearance for the desk drawer. I wanted to get the cords up off of the floor because a tangled mess of cords is such an eyesore, but it’s a good idea for childproofing too.

Cord Management

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  • Kim @ Yellow Brick Home
    February 11, 2010 at 11:38 am

    Hip, hip hooray for cord management!

    I can’t stand a tangle of cords in my own home. We hide all the ugliness behind our filing cabinet next to the desk, and run all the cords behind the leg of the desk (using white zip ties that blend into the white legs).

  • Emily
    February 11, 2010 at 11:45 am

    Just wait until she starts to stand and crawls under there to see a pretty red light while you are working and turns off your surge protector at the worst possible moment!! LOL! That is my little man’s favorite thing to do right now, we have a very similar set up! :)

  • jbhat
    February 11, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    Even your cords and cables are lovely. Thanks for sharing.

  • GingiberSnap
    February 11, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    I love this! I have a 15 month old who gets into everything. I should implement this idea.

  • Miss B
    February 11, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    You are a genius. Thank you, thank you for this, you just made my day!

  • Jen P.
    February 11, 2010 at 1:35 pm

    I love that idea! We just create a new desk area and this is an issue I needed to address.

  • Danielle
    February 11, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    I was one of those that inquired! It’s such a great idea!!

  • Ele
    February 11, 2010 at 2:09 pm

    Looks great! Can’t wait to see what the mirror looks like above your desk too…I see it peeking out!

  • jessica
    February 11, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    THIS is brilliant.
    One day (I’m dreaming of it) our entire world will be cordless!

  • Emily
    February 11, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    PERFECT solution for my upcoming office change!

  • Christina
    February 11, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    great idea and so organized!

  • Sweetchic Events
    February 11, 2010 at 4:43 pm

    NICE! I desperately need a cord management system in my office, it looks awful…

  • Live a Colorful Life
    February 11, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    that is such a great idea. It never occurred to me before. Were you the one who steered me in the direction of cordotz cord identifiers? I can’t remember now. But I ordered two sets (alas, I haven’t identified my cords as of yet) in the multicolored option, but you can get them in pink too:
    http://store.cordotz.com/dotzidentifiercomputeroffice-1-1.aspx

  • Jenni
    February 11, 2010 at 6:11 pm

    someone mentioned the cordotz…. i do something similar to that but way cheaper and customizable. I hate finding a cord not attached to anything and having no idea where it goes because then it ends up in a box never to be used again but taking up space. So i used my PTouch label maker and all my cords have descriptor labels attached. it’s fantastic!

    i like you cord holder… my dad does the zip tie method =)

  • Condo Blues
    February 11, 2010 at 6:12 pm

    I used garbage bag twist ties to bundle up the cords behind my computer and TV. I always have a ton left over because I usually tie the ends of the bags shut instead of rooting around the box for a twist tie.

  • Christine
    February 11, 2010 at 6:55 pm

    Thanks for sharing your cord secret! I absolutely hate wires of every kind and like a lot of people I have a boyfriend who likes electronics and speakers and cell phones and stereos. Sometimes I just wish it was the olden days again- no cords to be seen. Give me a desk, fresh sheet of paper and an inkwell any day!

  • Elisa @ whatthevita
    February 11, 2010 at 7:36 pm

    i spy the mirror! the lamp, too! did you get the rug, too? :)

  • Caroline @ The Feminist Housewife
    February 11, 2010 at 10:11 pm

    Thank you so so much for posting this. My son just started crawling a couple weeks ago and he LOVES to eat cords. And we have cords entangled everywhere!

  • Natalie
    February 11, 2010 at 10:47 pm

    What a great idea, thanks! :)

  • Natalia
    February 12, 2010 at 4:05 am

    I feel beautiful, I love the mixture of colors of the room!!!
    To see if I can do something similar in my house and published it.
    I follow the track!!
    Greetings from Spain!
    I love this blog …

  • emma
    February 12, 2010 at 6:30 am

    So simple !!!.
    From mess to peace.

  • Katie @ goodLife {eats}
    February 12, 2010 at 9:40 am

    I so wish you could buy this online. When I was out of town last month I bought a desk and bookcase at Ikea since we don’t have one in our state. I was going to get one of the cable management things, and I completely forgot. I’m kicking myself now because I hate the tangled mess of cords hanging from the back of my new desk. Otherwise, I am loving my office makeover!

  • beatrice
    February 12, 2010 at 10:13 am

    That’s a great idea!

    It’s not at all childproof, though, unless I’m missing something? A crawler will go straight over there and pull on them.

  • Emily A. Clark
    February 12, 2010 at 10:45 am

    Excellent idea!!!! Nothing drives me battier than seeing a crazy jumble of cords. Thanks for sharing.

  • Jamilah
    February 12, 2010 at 11:48 am

    Lovely! You can also use these cableboxes for a sleeker look as well, http://www.bluelounge.com/cablebox.php, http://www.belkin.com/surgeprotection/concealed/, http://www.hidemycables.com/

    Hope this helps for everyone who wants to conceal the wires in a box.

  • Amy@OldSweetSong
    February 12, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    YOU’RE A GENIUS

  • crystal b
    February 12, 2010 at 1:35 pm

    You just made my day!!!! The cords in my life are out of control!! Another tip. I labeled ALL my cords with a label maker. I have so many I don’t know that cord goes with what!!

  • Allison
    February 13, 2010 at 8:23 pm

    I have the same thing under my desk. It’s amazing, and so necessary!

  • Jazmin
    February 14, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    I definitely need this. I recently bought a new desktop for my home office (I’ve always been a laptop kinda gal), and it’s extremely annoying to see these cords roaming around everywhere.

    The closest Ikea to me is in Paramus, NJ and this specific cord management system isn’t available online :(. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a comparable product at Target. But, I find that they’re pretty expensive (when compared to Ikea & Walmart) with their organizational products.

  • urban flea
    February 16, 2010 at 12:37 am

    very cool! hope you have a lovely week my dear! cheers!

    xo urban flea :)

  • Lindsey (aka modchik)
    February 17, 2010 at 11:34 pm

    I am so glad I saw this – my ‘Bond’ desk comes next week and I was unraveling cords today thinking what am I going to do when the sleek new desk comes? I just thought you styled the office for the photo, when actually you took care of all the details, cords included!

    Love you BLOG/site – you ROCK all things Lovely!

    Lindsey

  • LoveFeast Table
    February 24, 2010 at 7:58 am

    Yes!! Just what I needed…I have IKEA tables in my office. I love the clean lines….but hate the cord mess!! Thanks for the tip of the day! It’s on my shopping list! ~Chris Ann

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  • Jen
    April 8, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    I love this idea! I hate cord clutter too, but I have a laptop and I often transition between work and home with it, so cords have to be easily accessible too. But I wonder if this might work…

  • jenn
    April 20, 2010 at 12:06 pm

    Can you tell me more about the screen saver/clock that is on your Mac on top of the desk?!?!?!?! What a cute one!!!

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