Oxymoron Desk Blends the Best of Work + Home Surfaces
Soft couches and hard desktops are two parts of a home that seem mutually exclusive. But Russian designer Anna Lotova has designed a desk that incorporates elements of both hard and soft surfaces, and she aptly named it the Oxymoron Desk.
Two plywood sheets make up the top and bottom layers of the desk. In between these boards sit two thick layers of soft, upholstered foam. Objects like books or file folders can be stuck between the two upholstered layers to hold them close at hand.
Additional pieces of plywood can be stuck between the layers to create impromptu side tables. A specially-designed lamp can also be sandwiched between the upholstered layers to make for a lovely and one-of-a-kind lighting solution. The tables and lamp can be placed at any position around the desk, making a completely unique office setup.
A slot in the wood at the back of the desk is perfect for holding documents, stationery, and other supplies close at hand. The designer’s approach to the project was to create a humorous, playful solution that straddles the line between home and work environments.
More from the designer
“As a designer I hold value in exploring the optimal communicative strength of the materials that I work with. OXYMORON is a workplace with a lot of attitude but in a sober manner where the details highlight the profile you want for the moment. It represents an interaction between two physically opposite materials, in which they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.”
“We have to change our behavior, plan and think of work with a different mindset: no matter where an office is situated, it has to have a space it can call its own, identifiable, alterable, on a human scale, with its own history and objects, an enjoyable environment. That’s why for my thesis project in master of product design I decided to choose this topic.”
