I want to line an 8′ long wall with office storage, but there are a few limitations. Our third floor has a ceiling height of 8′ in the center of rooms, but there are lot of funny angles because of the roof line and I’ll only have 54″ of clearance. There is already a desk and a table in the room, so I’m looking for something higher than 30″ to break up that horizontal plane. I also can’t bring anything up in one piece that’s too long, because it won’t fit up the stairs! So here’s what I’m looking for.
- 36-54″ tall, and up to 86″ long.
- Modular, or something that can be assembled in the room.
- A mix of drawers, filing cabinets, and open storage.
- $2000 budget (of course less would be nice)
Modular home office furniture can check all those boxes. I’ve looked at options from IKEA, Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware, Arhaus, Pottery Barn, Wayfair, Ballard Designs, Home Decorator’s Collection, and probably a few more that I’m forgetting right now.
I’m going to choose something with a base height of 30-36″ and then add more storage on top with a hutch. The extra storage on top doesn’t necessarily have to be from the same collection, though a lot of them do have options that all work together (a bonus so that the finishes match exactly). I’ve narrowed down my options to Pottery Barn’s Printer’s Office, the Original Home Office line from Ballard Designs, and the Martha Stewart Living Craft Space collection.
These are in scale with one another, and those sconces are placed at 46″ high. The full retail price is listed above, but all three are currently on sale (and go on sale pretty regularly). But wait, there’s more! Here are a couple of mix and match possibilities.
The base from Ballard Designs in their Tuscan Brown finish can be paired up with the Benchwright Desk Hutch from Pottery Barn. The finishes are a bit different, but I’m liking it. Or the Ballard base in white with a Martha Stewart Hutch?
Which would you choose?
19 comments
Alexandra Marie
I would do the Martha Stewart one. Put that extra $1000 towards something else!
Karen Simon Peterson
I like the last one the best, but you could get the HD one and change the knobs to make it look more old fashioned. Good luck with whichever one you choose.
Michelle Mattus
I outfitted my studio with the HDC Martha Stewart Crafts collection. I honestly love it. It is very sturdy. I chose a grey color they no longer offer. The painted wooden knobs are totally fine, but one day I swap them out for brass pulls. It was a bit of a beast to assemble, I’m not going to lie.
kelokeefe
I recently purchased a few of the Martha Stewart pieces and while they are sturdy and easy to assemble the off gassing from the lacquer is shockingly awful. It’s been 3 weeks and the pieces still really smell strongly of chemicals. Also, the boxes were filthy when they arrived from China. I think they were shipped directly so perhaps the seller is unaware. I wouldn’t buy anything else from that line.
Peggi
I like the Ballard base and the PB hutch. I know you’ve got a lot of wood…but somehow I’m white cabinetted out. Who really cares what I think? All your rooms look smashing!
Virginia
I really only like the Ballard Designs options (I think I’m drawn to that label-holder hardware). You have so much oak in your house; don’t do the stained wood ones! Take a breather from wood and do one of the white options, that’s my two cents. :)
LMN
I like the 3rd one. clean lines, and you could change the knobs (I wouldn’t but there’s an option), it appears to have the space you need, and it’s not so wonky. The others might look busy with the roof lines. and it’s budget friendly. Of course, you always make things come together wonderfully so do what makes you happy :-)
Lyndsey
Can you provide the source for the sconces?
Making it Lovely
Here’s the sconce! I like the idea of a pair of them (or something like them) flanking the storage. A pair of lamps would be good too, but sconces would free up some surface area.
Nitya
Ballard base with PB hutch!!
Amie Melnychuk
Ballard Base with PB hutch! I like how airy the hutch feels on top of the base.
Arli M.
It depends what your needs are? A lot of little drawers or drawers that are larger and seem like file sized drawers. I like the Martha Stewart best, and agree that while the brown wood is nice, it would be too much brown wood.
Making it Lovely
Ooh, I should have mentioned that the Pottery Barn one that looks like it has a million drawers actually doesn’t. A lot of those are faux fronts.
Sherry
Ballard base with MS hutch!
Kelly
I vote for one of the white options. The floor in your office is wood (and you probably won’t have a rug in that area because of its proximity to the desk, plus the adjacent door is wood. That’s a lot of wood in competing tones!
Making it Lovely
I’m adding a rug, and I’ve painted all of the doors on the third floor black! The color scheme of walls, doors, and trim is the same as our bedroom (palest blush, black, and creamy white).
Melissa MacGregor
I have a friend that bought that set from Ballard a few years ago and it literally took almost a year to get all of the pieces delivered in good condition. The delivery folks were also horrible and banged up the walls badly on their not-narrow staircase. So, as a result, I’ve resisted ordering large items from Ballard ever since! I kind of like the PB option anyway which is surprising because I usually go for painted white!
Making it Lovely
Eek. I had their giant closet pieces (already assembled) delivered, and they were fine! Hopefully that would be the case again?
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