The Office Under The Stairs

@Raymund Sucgang: That's the first thing I thought of lol, good job.

BrianB

@Bryce Bounds: Did you perhaps mean the Parsons table from R&B?

[tinyurl.com]

@rogsim: Yeah, being as tall as I am I would be asking for a daily scull cracking every time I stood up from that chair.

@Alden Pyle: there's a significant difference between being obnoxious and providing criticism.

Jason Hock

@projectvirus: So, no negative criticism is allowed?

Alden Pyle

My WHS is under the stairs, and that one doesn't mind the dush and dirt :)

Firasco

@UlvaMarlborough: By providing constructive feedback and criticism rather than useless, snide remarks? Lifehacker, and any other business for that matter, listens to how their customers (you and me) react to their products (articles).

And in the blogging business what matters is pageviews. The articles that are successfull are viewed over and over again, while lesser articles are not. The numbers speak for themselves. There's no need to bash a perfectly credible article that clearly some people have benefited from.

If Andrew Steven Midthune didn't benefit from it, he can cry me a fucking river and move on the to the next post. Trolling =/= Humor.

@Jason Hock: damnit - lifehacker.

Jason Hock

Or you could do what we do at my house and just take off your shoes when you get inside. I've used setups similar to this one before and never had a dirt problem.

@Andrew Steven Midthune: no, I do. the pattern I see is regarding an unusually large increase in 'witty' & mundane facebook commenters. your comment itself doesn't deserve the ban hammer. yet considering the disdain for facebookers to begin with and this large increase of comments - possibly originating from obstinate giz regulars wanting to draw attention to their unfounded displeasure of facebook - this kind of comment draws attention away from the Gizmodo community and to Facebook itself. It's a shame really. Maybe even inevitable.

Jason Hock

@Jason Hock: Psssst. This is Lifehacker.

Stand up quick, smash head on stairs, curse and swear...

Snorbalp

@Raymund Sucgang: Desk under stairs, Great! Desk under open stairs, DIRT!

@goodywitch: Oh god. I thought I was messy for having 2 unpaid bills on my desk, 5 pennies and a bottle of beer on the floor. :|

polobunny

@Jason Hock: You really, seriously believe this article deserves no ribbing? This is useful and interesting to you? Like the Rock-That-Crushes-Things?

Andrew Steven Midthune

@Dr.Jeckyl: I used to have one in my old job and I miss it. I promised myself I would buy one but it's just too expensive on my budget.

Judgy McJudger

@undefined: I see a pattern. Soon FB will be banned from Giz.

Jason Hock

@Ryan Van Der Kooy: Blasphemer! Question not the Lifehacker!

Andrew Steven Midthune

@2-7offsuit is ioos: Dogpile on the blasphemer!

Andrew Steven Midthune

@Dr.Jeckyl: What kind of chair is that? I've been looking for a good desk chair for awhile now

DrewPullus

@projectvirus: Wow. Just joking around. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

Andrew Steven Midthune

@Ryan Van Der Kooy: Since when has Lifehacker been about the "tech" world? It's about small improvements, both physical and virtual, that you can make to the way you live life and do business to make things smoother, simpler, or more interesting. "Hacking your life", as it were.

Lots of it is programs but by no means all of it. If you want to complain about how a Gawker blog isn't posting enough tech stuff, go to Gizmodo. They love that sort of thing.

Wow, must be a slow day for anything interesting in the tech world. Interesting article though, that desk has legs and everything. I like how it can actually resist gravity and hold things up a few feet high.

Ryan Van Der Kooy

@Raymund Sucgang: My office used to have an expensive printer under the stairs. Some stray rocks/dirt ended up in costly repairs to the printer. So, yeah, it's definitely a concern.

ungood

Is that the Parsons table from Crate and Barrel with a wood top? I demand to know so I can go get one!

Bryce Bounds

I find that the dustiest place in my house is under the stairs, the combination of people constantly walking/running up and down and never going under there isn't a good place for a computer >.< (in my house at least)

SuxoR

@Raymund Sucgang: I immediately thought the same thing.

@Pistachio?_GitEmSteveDave: Corkboard sounds like a good idea.

IndustrialJones

Herman Miller Aeron. Say that five times fast

YalenaActor

@projectvirus: How are ideas supposed to be improved if no one pointed out flaws?

UlvaMarlborough

@Raymund Sucgang: I completely agree. Only suitable for exceptionally clean homes.

FedeleTelamon

@Andrew Steven Midthune: Perhaps you'd be better off patrolling your friends feed to comment on which status updates you also find don't suit your tastes.

@Pistachio?_GitEmSteveDave: Check out his profile. It's full of gems like that.

As a nice contrast, check out Gizmodo [i.gizmodo.com]

damn that is a swank place. i bet they don't let people like me over cause i would steal something.

I don't know if I'd like those stairs arcing over my head like that, but other than storage, making use of the under-the-stairs area seems like a good idea if you have the space like this.

Nice, simple, to the point. Well done Smithers.

tok3ninja

@Andrew Steven Midthune: If all you are going to do is point out what you feel is wrong, then you can "lose" this website, and start your own, with the "real" stories you feel you need.

I for one like this idea. I also KNOW my cats would love it if I left the risers open like that.

Nice setup. I'm sitting in that exact chair. LOVE it.

@TheTick: I was thinking either plexi, OR a cork/whiteboard so you could put notes up for yourself.

@Raymund Sucgang: I wonder if you could get a piece of fabric or something that would look good hanging under there to take care of that?

Putting things under stairs! Crushing things with rocks! Boy, I'm glad I found this website!

Andrew Steven Midthune

The only think that would suck about this set up is all the dirt that would end up on you and your desk as people walk up and down the stairs.

Raymund Sucgang

@DrewPullus: Not sure the brand but it wasn't too highly priced. I'd say around $300.

@DrewPullus: The chair is a Herman Miller Aeron (Carbon Classic, not the Basic version).

Amazon has them listed for about $850 now.

[tinyurl.com]

Not cheap, but worth every penny -- mine is still just as comfortable and perfect as the day I bought it going on 8 years ago now.

BingleyJoe

@Snorbalp: Exactly what I was thinking. Especially if it's late at night and you're tired... WHAMMO!

ZukeZuke

I'm not impressed. Dust & dirt from the stairs, and whacking your head upon standing up, does not a good workspace make.

Unless they're a midget and the stairs are fake...

Can they even fully raise the top to that AIO printer to access the flatbed scanner?

ZukeZuke

Very classy. That's a swanky pad someone has. :)

Love it!

DePaulBlueDemon

Who wants to have to worry about someone peeping up their dress/skirt everytime they go up the stairs? lol

Salute77

Mmm.. the only thing that keeps me thinking is the dirt that would come down as people go upstairs? I mean, at least on the picture there are shown spaces between each step where this could happen. Still looks very neat and cool.

BertaKabobular

@Andrew Steven Midthune: I'm kinda with andrew on this one. If you think this article is really some sort of break through AND you take his comment this seriously.. you all need to lighten up. Next tin you know they'll be posting a hot new trick where you put "hooks" on the "wall" and suddenly there's a place for your hat and you guys just eat it up raw. Apple has it's fanboyz.. face it some of you are lifehacker whores.

Denver80203

@Alden Pyle: Being a retard =! Constructive criticism

TheLostVikings

wheres the uber work stations with zillions of monitors?

urbanturban666

@Raymund Sucgang: simply not allow dirty footwear in your home - we always remove our shoes in the house - problem solved...and your house is cleaner...

Xibalba

Beautiful setup - simple and classy. Personally I would prefer a larger office setup but they have fully maximized their space in style, functionality, and class. Kudos!

Xibalba

@discerr:

$949 for that table?

van_line

sure, it looks sweet and all. but it pales in comparison to the kitchen under the stairs in the not so big house.

Bob Frichtel

@YalenaActor:
Not every mesh chair is an Aeron.

@ungood:
Yeah, because feet carry rocks and stuff. Oh, wait.

Look at how clean that place is. Shoes in the office, socks at home.

Better not spill your drink when you come down the stairs...

achoke

@TheLostVikings: Come on, it was just a cheeky little comment, a reminder that sometimes lifehacking gets a little silly. One person's silly tip is another person's eureka moment. No need to get your knickers in a knot if you have different ideas on the usefulness of a post.

I thought it was funny. "Rock that crushes things"! Yeah! More crushing!

djnrempel

Ha! Now I know why my flickr page got all those hits yesterday and today! Thanks for all the comments guys.

-G

Graeme Basson

@Raymund Sucgang: Seeing as that's my desk, I can let everyone know that it is actually not a problem. Those stairs go up to our terrace (more apt pics on flickr if you want to see the layout). It's hard to explain but the stairs have a small "lip" on the back that prevents anything from going over the edge and landing on my desk.

Sorry, I can't really explain it well, but it's really not a problem. However, your mileage may vary!

-G

Graeme Basson

@LastVigilante: I am 6'1 and I have the desk positioned perfectly so as to avoid skull cracking... :-)

Graeme Basson

@tok3ninja: Yup, my chair is amazingly comfortable. I actually bought it in 2002 (wow i have had it for sooo long) used from a tech start up that went bust in NYC. I think I paid about $300 way back then. GREAT investment. Never had a more comfortable chair.

Graeme Basson

@Bryce Bounds: I bought it at Room & Board. It is a Parson's table with a zebra wood top (which is not available anymore) and it was a bit pricey but it was the trade off as the apartment is only a one bedroom loft so in order to have the home office in the main living area I had to make it look like it fit in with the rest of the place's style.

Graeme Basson

@Andrew Steven Midthune: You might want to put something under the stairs to catch the constant rain of crud from off those open steps.

MelvinaMite

Graeme, thanks for being so responsive to all the specific questions (here and on Flickr)! So often I come across a project or setup I like, and for whatever reason the author doesn't share details.

Your workspace is very classy! It can be hard to balance "efficient" with "inviting", but you've done an admirable job. Thanks for sharing!

A.Franklin

@A.Franklin: Hey no problem - glad to help!

G

Graeme Basson

BSOD with style.

Manu Jain

Yeah, as users mentioned before, I can imagine your computer would get quite a bit of dust, little bits of stuff on it just from people walking up and down the stairs with dirty shoes. Not to mention, if someone were walking up the stairs with a drink and tripped .. as I often do that might cause a big problem ..

Travis Prindle

@BingleyJoe:
It's not an Aeron. It lacks the distinct Y-shaped frame that the lumbar support pad is suspended from, and the seat isn't mesh. Hence, it's a wannabe Aeron.

Probably still comfortable, but it's not the legendary chair.

My workspace is under the stairs and it works very well. Granted, my stairs are sealed off, so no worries with dust and bits of grime falling through. When you are pushed for space, under the stairs can be very rewarding. You work in a very shaded area and it still feels apart from the rest of the room. I'm only 3" tall so no worries about banging my head either!

HollyLoralee

very clean, I like.

Could have sworn I saw this one over on Home Office Snapshots before that blog all but died though....

Much neater than mine. http://twitpic.com/2r7ke I'm saving for a new desk chair, I really like that Aeron.

NigelAntiope