The integration of home and office can be a charming theme to do over you home in. We started with pegboard - the brown masonite color is beautiful in a utilitarian 'form follows function' kind of way. We pared it with #2 pencil yellow for a graphic look. The pegboard not only created storage on the back of our door, it also served as a window treatment and a decorative accessory. The other feature in the room is double duty furniture: a big round yellow dot on the brown wall detaches and becomes the table top when placed on top of our two drawer filing cabinet. Our work surface is a desk that raises and lowers from the ceiling on pulleys. Here's how:

You'll need:

-Piece of MDF or plywood in the size of your finished surface
-4 Pieces of furring strip or 1x2 (2 as long as your desk is long, 2 as long as your desk is wide
-Drill
-Paint, varnish or some other surface treatment for your finished desk.
-4 heavy duty eye bolts
-4 nuts to fit the bolts
-8 washers
-Heavy duty rope
-4 pulleys
-Hook

Start by deciding how big a desk you want. We made one about 2.5' x 4'. It's about the right size for writing letters and keeping track of bills. This design concept is also perfect for larger applications like a cutting table or even a bed. Frame out your desk on the bottom (we omitted this step on the show) with the furring strips so the surface won't bow. Then drill holes in all four corners inside the framing for your eyebolts. Apply the finish to the surface of the desk. Insert the bolts with washers on either side of the wood and secure in place with the nuts. String your rope through the eye bolts and tie them on using tight knots. Mount your pulleys on the ceiling, making sure you're drilling into the ceiling joists (its extremely important to secure your pulleys into solid wood, and not just plaster board). Then string your rope through the pulleys. Attach a hook on the wall (also into a stud) and pull the rope down to the hook so the desk is at the point you want it for work, then collect all the rope together until the desk is level and knot it off.

Episode 104 Main Page