D10| Saturday/Sunday, April 4 - 5, 2020 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Desk Today. Tomorrow...
...A CRAFT TABLE
“Sitting is the new smoking,” said
Dallas designer Jean Liu. “I am a
huge advocate of standing desks.”
The writing surface of this architect-
style example sits a full foot higher
than a standard 30-inch-high desk.
Other family members can rotate in
if you don’t want to be on your feet
all day. Made of beechwood andblackened steel, “its beauty is all
about simplicity,” Chicago designer
Frank Ponterio said of the unimpos-
ing piece. Later, household hobbyists,
who spend hours absorbed in spine-
numbing tasks, can similarly give
backs a break. Then, the notched
backboard can hold instructions in-
stead of files. Dante Architect Desk,
$1,775, doormandesigns.com...A ROLLING BUFFET CART
Nearly every designer we spoke to
rallied around this simple metal
table on casters for its lack of
adornment, affordable price and
mobility. When not in use as a
desk, it can function in many ways,
as game table, buffet, kitchen is-
land or bar. “It could also serve as
a surface for your indoor garden,”
said Laurie Blumenfeld-Russo.
“Wheel it in front of your window
during the day, and then find a
perfect location for it in the eve-
ning where you can enjoy it.” The...A SET OF BOOKSHELVES
Even while providing a workspace
23 inches deep and storage on
three 11-inch shelves, this modular
unit with desk attachment cuts a
trim figure. “It doesn’t take up a
large footprint in your furniture
plan,” Ms. Blumenfeld-Russo said of
the wall-mounted, wood system.
While used as a working desk, a
light and supplies can be stowed
overhead. Later the desk surface
can be repurposed as a bar or just
another shelf. She would layer
books, collected pieces and “long
dripping succulents, as well as
small-scale ones.” Sticotti Bookshelf
+ Desk Kit G,$1,470, beambk.com...A MAKEUP STATION
Contracted by direct-to-consumer
brand Dims, Brooklyn studio Ladies
& Gentleman designed the Com-
posed Vanity specifically for small
spaces. Less than 40 inches across
and including a detachable mirror
and cable hole, it is intended to be
used as a gender-neutral primping
table or a desk. Atlanta designer
Jessica Davis recently sourced theash-veneered piece for a client and
finds it ideal for quarantine life.
“You can check your makeup before
hopping onto a Zoom call,” she
joked. Ms. Davis said that after its
life as a work surface, she would
femme it up with “a nice vanity
lamp, a tray for baubles and per-
fumes and a great furry vanity
stool.” Composed Vanity,$595, pre-
order at dimshome.comMINI-ALPSIn this image from ‘Hypertufa Containers,’ stones evoke mountain terrain.THERE’S NO BETTERtime to create your own
tiny, perfect world than when the real world
feels like it’s out of control.
Unsurprisingly, alpine troughs are having a
moment. Designed to look like realistic, minia-
ture landscapes, these container gardens can
lull you into believing in an orderly universe
populated solely by adorably Lilliputian trees,
succulents and plants shaped like tiny tuffets.
“These plants are from the mountains,
where they have evolved to grow above the
timberline in a scree of broken-up rocks,
gravel and a little bit of dust, and you get en-
chanted by them,” said Lori Chips, author of
“Hypertufa Containers: Creating
and Planting an Alpine Trough
Garden” (Timber Press).
Much like the terrarium craze a
decade ago, which introduced
young, would-be gardeners to
self-contained plots, alpine trough
gardens invite beginners. “It’s so
easy—you can make a lightweight
trough of a Styrofoam cooler. Put
holes in the bottom for drainage,
fill it with plants, and you have a
miniature garden,” said Elisabeth
B. Zander, president of the North
American Rock Garden Society.
Many of its nearly 40 chapters na-
tionwide offer workshops on al-
pine trough gardens. Susannah
Strazzera, a horticulturalist who
manages the alpine area at the
Wave Hill public garden in the
Bronx, N.Y., noted that enduring
alpine trough gardens are a cost-
effective alternative to planters
filled with one-summer annuals.Natural elements like rocks and pebbles are
artfully mixed with high-elevation alpines such
as dwarf conifers, mounding bun plants and
mat-like cushion plants, said Ms. Chips, who
also manages alpines at Oliver Nurseries in
Fairfield, Conn. A variety of shapes, textures
and sizes creates the illusion of a real-life
scene that’s been shrunken, she added.
Hardy alpine plants require little water and
can survive winter outdoors, particularly if
planted in a porous stone trough or a light-
weight facsimile made of hypertufa (a mix of
cement, vermiculite, perlite and peat). “Grow-
ing in hypertufa makes them feel like they’re
in the ground where they nor-
mally live,” said trough maker
Chris Hopp, of Farmbrook Designs
in Lansing, Mich.
Many U.S. gardeners are broad-
ening the botanical palette, per-
haps because few garden centers
stock alpine plants. (Specialty
nurseries such as Arrowhead Al-
pines in Michigan and Wrightman
Alpines Nursery in New Brunswick
sell them online.) Gardeners are
filling troughs with miniature
cacti to evoke desert landscapes
or tiny tropical plants to conjure a
jungle. “Any design that’s artistic
is going mainstream,” said Panay-
oti Kelaidis, senior curator and di-
rector of outreach at Denver Bo-
tanic Gardens, known for its
collection of alpine troughs.
What matters, Mr. Kelaidis
said, is “you’re creating a little
painting with plants, and it can be
very elegant.”—Michelle SlatallaKEY TO THE GARDEN
A guide to the hardy,
miniature specimens
in the trendy ‘alpine
trough’ pictured
at left:
1 Dwarf form of
Chamaecyparis
Obtusa
2 Antennaria
‘McClintock’
3 Draba Rigida
4 Red Sempervivum12
4 3Plot out a Lilliputian landscape with tiny alpine plants
If Gulliver Had a Container Garden
...AN ENTRYWAY CONSOLE
Rattan furniture continues to shake its Victorian con-
notations with contemporary designs like this. In fact,
the basket-weave material and waterfall edges fairly
camouflage the desk’s function. “It’s practical without
looking at all office-y,” observed San Francisco de-
signer Jeffry Weisman. Textural and organic, it willblend with many decorative schemes now and later,
when it might serve in anentryway, with upholstered
stools or baskets tucked beneath. Against the back of
a couch, the unfussy piece can be a sofa table. Mar-
veled Nashville interior designer Robin Rains, “It has
endless possibilities, throughout any stage of life.”
Marisol Rattan Desk,$399, urbanoutfitters.com...A DRESSER
A secretary desk is an excellent
choice today because, as New
York designer Alexandra Pappas
noted, “when work is complete,
you can close it all up.” Later, left
open, it might display mementos
or liquor. But Mr. Weisman would
also exploit the drawers. “It will
double as a dresser and a desk in
a guest bedroom,” he said. “Next
to a bed, the desktop also serves
as a great bedside table with a
small lamp and a tray for a glass
of water.” Ms. Pappas recom-
mended going vintage. “Antique
versions add history and patina
to a space,” she said. Swedish Art
Moderne Secretary Writing Desk,
$2,995, 1stdibs.comnishings brand CB2. A recent search
for handmade and vintage desks on
Etsy showed an unprecedented
swarm of activity, with page after
page of red “25 people have this
item in their cart” notifications.
The designers we spoke with
quite agreed that foremost, the
temporary desk you select needs to
blend with your home’s aesthetic
and not scream its functionality.
“My go-to would be a beautiful an-
tique piece, versus a typical com-
mercial-style desk, and pair it with
a classic contemporary chair,” said
Nashville designer Robin Rains,
“something visually appealing thatContinued from page D1 makes you want to sit down and
get your work done. Choosing an
unconventional desk can help trick
the mind.”
For anyone inclined to buy a new
desk, Nina Freudenberger, an inte-
rior designer in Los Angeles, said
the key is to pick something that
can have a second life post-pan-
demic. “Desks are boring to look at,”
she said. A less literal choice, like a
small bistro table, will be more use-
ful than a desk once we return to
normal life, she said. “The best
pieces of furniture are those that
do some kind of double duty.” Here
are seven ideas for desks that will
find new work post-Covid-19.DESIGN & DECORATING
New York designer suggested pair-
ing it with wood furniture for a
layered look. Go-Cart Rolling Desk,
$149, cb2.comAGATA WIERZBICKA (ILLUSTRATION)