Showing posts with label office storage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label office storage. Show all posts

3/02/2025

RISATORP Desk Organiser (White, 50x16x17 cm)

I was after this Risatorp desk organiser for months. First, it was a bit too pricey, then it wasn't delivered to my postcode. I was really excite when I was able to get it. 
 
I felt an immediate attraction towards this piece and design. The killer minimalist white epoxy and caramel bamboo colour combo, the mesh, the simplicity, the originality, the roundness, the floating legs. My eyes still spark when I look at it. 
 
It's longer and heavier than I expected or the product photos make you think. You'd need a long large desk for this organiser to look right on your desk. Otherwise, you might want to place it on the top of a shelf. The inside is compartmented, so this allows you to devote different spaces to different stuff.  I've put some of my crayons in recycled glass containers, a small pen holder with my most used markers and pencils, a small  square tissue box, a tiny tin box with my meds, hand cream, and a few other things, and there is still room for little items. 

Assembly was easy overall, but I had difficulty screwing one of the legs strait. 

DESIGNERS A-M Nilsson & A Wallgren.

3/01/2025

LENNART Drawer Unit (30x34x56 cm)

I have three pieces of this Lennart drawer unit at home. I bought it because of the sweet clean simple design and great price. I store my acrylic paints tubes and inks in them and I can put them under my desk or like a mini furniture piece on the wall. I store A4 notepads and loose paper sheets and scraps on the top shelf. Despite its feeble appearance, this unit holds a lot of stuff and weight, 5 kilos per drawer, and a bit extra on the top. 
 
Personally, I'd buy a different drawer unit if I wanted to store office documents or have it in a home office that receives visitors. However, this unit is great for arts and crafts storage, especially if you're on a budget and you expect paint splashes to fall on it. Said differently, I wouldn't cry if this got ruined by my paints.
 
Assembly is  relatively easy, and the resulting unit is light, cute and compact.  

I suggest reinforcing the drawers base with thin cardboard to make it stronger. 

DOWNSIDES
  • > The unit only has castor on the back legs. 
  • > The castors aren't the best, so they aren't mildly helpful when the unit is fully loaded.
  • > The front lowest side has a lot of empty space that could have been used to place another drawer.   
  • > The back crossbar doesn't properly protect the drawers rear. The bar is meant to act as a stop for the drawers not to fall off backwards, but the crossbar is a bit too thin and on the short side; shorter than they should be, I think.  
  • > Some of the screws that link the top shelf with the structure bars don't screw fully with a manual screwdriver. 
DESIGNER Jon Karlsson.

TROTTEN Storage Unit on Castors (White, 35x47 cm)

I have two of these and I was going to buy another two when the product was discontinued in Australia (still available in other countries' Ikea). 

The versatility of the product, how easy is to tuck it away and the many rooms I can use it in, make it a perfect storage solution for my home. I can use it as office storage, which is what was designed for. I can also use this unit as a sofa coffee table in my living room to keep a water bottle, mugs, glasses, napkins and other coffee/tea tools easily tucket away. I can use it as bedside table to store my pyjamas, sleepers/ugg boots, and a light throw). I currently use it as an office storage box with materials that I don't use often, and I've put an Eket cube with door on it, and they look fabulous together.  
 
The Skandi style is minimalist but eye-catching. The bamboo lid is excellent quality, very thick, sturdy and good looking. The shell is metallic, coated in an elegant matte antique-white epoxy. It's easy to carry around by hand if I don't put much stuff inside; otherwise, the castors do the job. Despite it's apparently wobbliness, this unit can securely hold tons of stuff inside and on top of it. The castors are also excellent, and roll smoothly.
 
The main downside of this unit was the tricky assembly. The instructions leaflet is good. You have to click in the different panels together, align them properly, and then insert the castors' screws perfectly as these are the only thing that hold the structure together. Getting all perfectly aligned without the structure falling apart was difficult. The unit looks less sturdy than it is. 
 
DESIGNER Francis Cayouette

2/28/2025

EKET Cabinet with Door (White, 35x35x35 cm)

I like the simplicity and elegance of the Eket line. Having a cube with a door allows me  to store and hide ugly-looking stuff from work, study or art making. The cube is made of a wood-like conglomerate, which you can clearly see on the individual panels inner sides when assembling them. It's sturdy material but light. I can move the cube around easily with my bare hands. The white matte paint and the overall design result in a neat elegant storage solution. The door has a push-opener integrated, and opens by making a bit of pressure.
 
This Eket cube can be hung from the wall (you'd need to buy the wall fittings separately), can be attached to another Eket cube (you'd need to buy the joining fittings), used with legs (ditto) or on its own. I own two pieces, which I use separately, resting on top of two Trotten storage units with castors (now discontinued) of the same size and the ensemble looks like water for chocolate.

I found the cube easy to put together. However, the instructions leaflet wasn't the best as includes instructions for other Eket combos and models. Linking and clicking-in-and-down the side 'knobs' was easy in theory. However, despite pushing down the panels like a champion, I couldn't make them click down fully. That being the case, I had to use a small hammer (protected with a thick fabric kitchen towel) to do that. 
 
DESIGNER  Jon Karlsson.
ASSEMBLY LEAFLET that came in the box is not available on the website any more.

HARVMATTA Letter Tray (Anthracite, 32x25x32 cm)

Like the rest of the Harvamatta series, this tray is both practical and stylish. It's quite large and you'll need a bit of space to place it. (I think it fits inside a Kallax cube). It's also a bit heavy (about 4.5 kilos); most of the weight comes from the individual trays as the outer shell is quite light.

I use this letter tray to declutter my desk and other surfaces in my home office. I store papers that I haven't classified yet (e.g. letters, postcards, receipts),  printing paper, and current documents that I want to keep at hand (e.g. medication prescriptions, medical referrals or certificates, bills to pay). The  trays are sturdy and hold A4-size paper pads, small sketchbooks, small items of stationery, and phone chargers. In a way, this letter tray is a mini-shelving system. The individual trays can be pulled out for convenience and their cork lining and outer curved flap prevent anything from sliding off and out.

Assembly is easy. The only difficulty I found was clicking in the last piece of the outer shell. 

DESIGNER Eva Lilja Löwenhielm.

HARVMATTA Box with Lid (Anthracite, 24x35x6 cm)

This box is the largest in the Harvamatta box set. I can easily store up to A4-size documents, stationery, unused painting brushes, colouring pencils and pastels, among other things. They're a bit pricey, but also good quality.

The box is very elegant and minimalist, with a hint of formality. I love the contrast between the metal anthracite colour and the cork lid woody colour. As they are so stylish, I can leave them in full view even though they might contain a lot of crap that, otherwise, would be cluttering my office. These boxes pile on each other perfectly, and they look great on top of the Harvamatta letter tray.

The main downside of the Harvamatta box line is that they don't have any closing or securing system. On the one hand, this favours easy piling on each other. On the other hand, if the box falls down, you'll have its contents all over the place. I would have loved these boxes having some sort of vintage-like wired closure or fasteners; even a tight closure like those that pickle traditional jars have. 

DESIGNER Ebba Strandmark.

RÅSKOG Small Trolley (white) with NORRÅVA Lid (28x38x61 cm)

I have two taller larger Raskog trolleys, which I love, but I needed something smaller (this is 61 cms tall instead of 77 cms) to tuck it under my desk when not in use, and to place it beside during my painting sessions without obtruding the area.  

The  antique-white epoxy coating is beautiful and goes perfectly with the Norrava bamboo lid. Besides, the epoxy coating  is easy to clean from paint splashes and stains.
 
Despite its small size and lightness, this trolley holds a lot of stuff. I place my brushes holders on the top shelf when painting, which I remove when not in use and place the bamboo lid. It's true that the lid protrudes a cm or so over the edge, something that didn't happen with older models. Yet, I don't see this as a big issue. On the shelves underneath I keep different painting media I often use (gesso, basic paints, palette ceramic plates, wipes, painting tools, gels, etc.). Although I use this unit for my painting needs, this trolley is perfect for kitchen and bathroom storage when the space available is limited.  

The trolley is easy to assemble thanks to the very clear instructions leaflet. The castors are great quality and roll beautifully in all directions; they can be locked in case you want to use it as non-movable storage unit.
 
DESIGNERS Nike Karlsson & Ellen Hallström.