Summer 2023
Furniture Design
A pine and oak desktop organiser combining an angled paper tray, accessible storage and carefully shaped timber details.
Pine & Oak Desk Tidy
overview
I developed this desk tidy to bring papers and smaller everyday items together within a compact, two-tier structure. An angled upper tray keeps documents visible, while the open space beneath provides access to a second storage tray.
The design combines the pale colour of pine with the stronger grain and darker tone of oak. Sketches, joint studies and workshop making informed the construction, with curved tray fronts and shaped supports giving a softer character to an otherwise simple arrangement.
deliverables
Product Design
Woodworking
Joinery
Digital Fabrication
01 — Design & Material Studies
Exploring how two levels of storage could come together through contrasting timbers and simple joinery.
about
Early sketches explored the relationship between the trays, upright supports and smaller storage details. I considered how papers would sit on the upper level and how the space below could remain accessible, developing a form that uses height to organise the desktop.
Joint studies helped me work through how the timber components could meet before making the full assembly. Drawings and templates then developed the curved profiles, while the contrast between pine and oak helped distinguish the trays from their supporting structure.
02 — Making & Assembly
Translating the drawings into shaped components, joined frames and a complete timber structure.
about
The workshop process moved from marking and cutting the timber to shaping the tray edges and assembling the frames. Gluing and clamping brought the components together, while repeated fitting helped establish the relationship between the upper tray, lower storage and supports.
The details combined conventional woodworking with digital fabrication. Routed edges softened the tray profiles, and a wood-grain pattern was developed digitally for laser engraving on the supports. These details gave the individual components a consistent character before final assembly.
03 — Final Design
Bringing paper storage, small-item organisation and the character of the timber together on the desk.
about
The finished organiser places an inclined paper tray above an open lower tray, with a small holder at the upper edge for pens. The curved fronts make the contents visible and accessible, while the space between the levels keeps the structure open.
The final photographs show the tidy in use, holding documents and everyday desk items. Pale tray surfaces contrast with the oak uprights, allowing the shaped edges, visible grain and repeated supports to define the finished object.
nicholas elton
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