Show HN: De-sk, modular office desk system

by jfren • 8 years ago

86 39 8 years ago

jfren• 8 years ago

Hey HN! I'm Jonathan. I've spent the last few months working on designing and launching a new concept for a desk. It's mainly targeted towards companies / offices -- ie banks of desks. I was inspired by my experience starting a co-working space, and subsequently meeting lots of others running offices and co-working spaces.

It's my first non-digital product, and I'm super excited to share it here first.

I'd love any feedback on the product and the site! :)

tonylemesmer• 8 years ago

It seems the surface is broken down into 10cm wide pieces. This is rather narrow, not even wide enough for an A4 sheet to sit on without crossing a join.

And how are the slats held down?

throwaway2016a• 8 years ago

This is awesome. But I feel the audience overlaps with standing desks and not offering a hydraulic standing desk base may be a missed opportunity.

cimmanom2• 8 years ago

That'd be a great niche too - giving users at one of those horrifying hot-desking benches a way to customize surface height.

quizme2000• 8 years ago

A (well made i.e. realistic) video of assembly/unboxing would really highlight your value proposition. Also my first reaction is to the gaps or smoothness between planks, visually it looks like a deal killer, so maybe highlight that this isn't an issue in the top line copy or with a photo. Good Luck!

insomniacity• 8 years ago

This definitely needs double/triple width slats to reduce some of the seam impact, possibly with some of the mount options. i.e. I would want 20-30cm uninterrupted in the middle of my desk, and that's probably also where I would want my monitor mount.

Non-replacable bulbs in 2018? That strikes me as a little wasteful.

nextos• 8 years ago

I love the concept because modularity is clever. You can build many many setups with a few pieces, and it's easy to ship!

I've been shopping for a desk in Oxford & London and I was not satisfied with what I saw. Great timing, I will consider de-sk.

I'd love to see adjustable height. Maybe not with an engine, as that would make the desk too heavy to ship and too expensive or complex. I think a crank handle system would be enough for small frames.

I'd also love to see the possibility of buying solid wood modules, like solid birch, instead of plywood.

PS: You should maybe have a solution for the annoyance of writing over tiny gaps. It doesn't bother me as I always write on top of a leather pad, but I can bother others. Good luck.

sleepybrett2• 8 years ago

the concept is slats, slats have been around since man started turning timber into lumber. Point to me what is new.

swaggyBoatswain• 8 years ago

There is a lot of questions regarding the way this works

How does the frame even work?

How does resizing work?

Won't writing a piece of paper on this desk be an unpleasant experience?

Your product & site needs a video

asdkhadsj• 8 years ago

Site is down for me at the moment it seems. Not loading.

blunte• 8 years ago

I didn't immediately see some desktop covering that would make the surface flat and smooth. This is something that some users would have to have - for writing on paper on the desk, and for mousing.

And since I don't want to have to have a special "desk mat" that looks odd and may slide around, I would skip this desk. Perhaps you can devise one that fits the style and provides the flat smooth surface that some of us would want.

aesthetics1• 8 years ago

It's an interesting concept. You need more photos - I need to see how the slats interlock, I need to see photos of how the frame works. My immediate thought was that with a long enough desk (de-sk?) it would bow in the middle. A lot of questions I have don't seem to be answered on the landing page. I think overall, the landing page could be simplified and cleaned up so I don't need to go hunting through the "FAQ" and "Why De-sk?" pages to know if this is the desk for me.

As others have pointed out, I think the biggest weakness is the seams. It looks like it would be impossible to write on. I would suggest that you include some sort of optional desk pad as an add-on.

I'm from the US. Although it doesn't look like you're shipping here yet anyway, you might include inch/pound units too if you plan to ship internationally at some point.

Cool concept, good luck.

EDIT: Here's what I meant by a desk pad, in case it wasn't obvious. This one has a lip so that it stays put, and a metal backing so that you wouldn't feel the slats underneath while you were writing: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40246156/

cimmanom2• 8 years ago

It looks like there also aren't US power outlets as an option yet.

jedimastert• 8 years ago

As others have pointed out, I think the biggest weakness is the seams. It looks like it would be impossible to write on. I would suggest that you include some sort of optional desk pad as an add-on.

Or possibly a large "slat" you can put into the middle.

hammock2• 8 years ago

It's an interesting concept. You need more photos - I need to see how the slats interlock, I need to see photos of how the frame works. My immediate thought was that with a long enough desk (de-sk?) it would bow in the middle.

He doesn't explain it but it seems pretty clear to me how it might work. The slats don't interlock. Underneath each slat are wooden tabs (one on each end) that fit snugly inside the frame. Each frame is sized to fit a certain number of slats.

And a long desk won't bow in the middle because the slats run the short end of the frame, not the long end.

Doxin• 8 years ago

The long axis of the desk still has a load bearing member that can flex. Presumably if you get a longer desk frame the member would be adjusted (in size or thickness or whatnot) to not bow.

Jaepa• 8 years ago

As others have pointed out, I think the biggest weakness is the seams. It looks like it would be impossible to write on. I would suggest that you include some sort of optional desk pad as an add-on.

I wonder why didn't did use flush cut tongue and groove? You would loss some of the hot swappablity of it current 10cm plywood strips, but it would be even, & more table overall.

hammock2• 8 years ago

A folding panel on the frame that flips down to replace slates could let you keep the hot swappability with tongue and groover.

kbouck• 8 years ago

I need to see how the slats interlock, I need to see photos of how the frame works.

For comparison, another furniture startup Aalo (YC W18) whose website has nice 3D closeup views of the interlocking components:

https://aalo.co

Odenwaelder2• 8 years ago

Way too expensive, sorry. I just built my own: 400cm oak wood tabletop: 200 Euros. IKEA Legs: 18 Euros. IKEA ALEX drawer element: 60 Euros. Putting everything together took an hour.

stinos• 8 years ago

400cm oak wood tabletop: 200 Euros

Oak isn't exactly cheap so for that price I assume this is just a tiny layer of oak (sorry couldn't find English term for it) glued on top of plywood or so?

Apart from that: De-sk is sort of expensive yes, but from what it looks like part of that price is quality paid for, it looks sturdy. No matter how smart and well-designed IKEA is, 18 euros cannot buy you something which lasts and doesn't wobble even after disassembling and assembling it again unless you attach it to a wall or so - at least that's my impression after years of using IKEA. I personally really dislike tables with even the slightest wobble for any kind of job. Most IKEA tables freshly built out of the box do not fullfill that requirement. Anyway: maybe they have something new now, what legs did you use?

localtalent• 8 years ago

'Veneer' is the term usually used. At that price, likely not solid, although butcher-block is not terribly expensive: a 240cm one is USD200 [1]. If the IKEA legs are just solid metal, it's entirely possible that it doesn't wobble provided they're affixed well.

Interesting product, maybe there's value in 3 different size slats to alleviate the seams problem while still providing flexibility?

[1]https://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/c/%27-Builder-Oak-Count...

robinwassen• 8 years ago

You can get a B/C grade massive oak tabletop quite cheap - bought mine for $100 in Sweden[1] that was 2 meter before I cut it.

[1] https://www.bauhaus.se/bankskiva-ek-b-c-2020x635x27mm-postfo...

Odenwaelder2• 8 years ago

Yes, it's solid!

https://www.bauhaus.info/massivholzplatten/exclusivholz-mass...

fredley• 8 years ago

Really great idea. In the awkward spaces city-dwellers like myself have to contend with, finding a desk that uses space well is a massive pain. For my current desk I ended up ordering countertop and building it myself. If this had been around I would have used it. Love the customisation options. As others have said it's a little expensive, but frankly paying an extra hundred quid for a desk (something I use a lot) that's perfect isn't a big deal.

sbr4642• 8 years ago

Another cool company I've used for the office - Floyd, you buy the legs, and build a desktop/door etc. Can recommend. We built our tops out of 2 sheets of nice grade Russian Baltic Birch plywood glued/screwed together. More expensive but built like tanks and easy to move with the removable legs.

https://floydhome.com/products/the-floyd-utility-set?color=W...

sbr4642• 8 years ago

pic of desk/detail: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j6mpmq2ozudike1/AAA0rAMeoBg_NnV6o...

aplc0r• 8 years ago

I like your use of the Craftsman tool chest. The printer fits perfectly!

subpixel• 8 years ago

I understand in principle how this might work, but the site gives me no visual idea how it actually works.

kevinherron• 8 years ago

Hard pass. I hate having any kind of seam underneath my working surface. This product is made entirely of seams.

xemdetia• 8 years ago

I wonder how this differs from the usual McMaster Carr table which has the benefit of an actually smooth/consistent surface https://www.mcmaster.com/#6124T5 and in general just seems like a better deal.

gumby• 8 years ago

Nice idea!

I notice people are mentioning the slats as an issue, but after reflection I realized it wouldn't be a problem for me (not to say that others won't find it a problem). I only write on paper as part of a block, and if I need to write on some single sheet of paper I always put a book, magazine or block behind it so that I don't have the hard table surface under the paper. One of the desk mats discussed would be fine too; I was just surprised to realize I don't need it.

Also, a grommet for the through-hole would reduce the chance of wear on a cable.

ChikkaChiChi• 8 years ago

I couldn't find any info about how the wire management works. It seems like understanding how multiple slates join together would be beneficial.

jiveturkey• 8 years ago

This is cool.

However, all the holes seem to be just at the edge of the boards -- which makes perfect sense. You don't want a hole in the middle.

But:

1) I think dynamic hole locations could be easily replicated on a standard desk by just drilling wherever you want and when you need to change this up, plugging old holes with a plastic cap. So really the main advantage is in being able to change the size of the tabletop, not in choosing different slats with different hole patterns.

2) sit-stand is the new hotness and you don't seem to address that.

3) having the main work surface be slatted is terrible. instead, have larger boards for the main area and a frame that allows just the edge to have modularity. You can still extend a desk by adding a smaller main board or a few full length slats.

1g0rb• 8 years ago

There is another similar concept od modular desk but based on bigger modules and without the steel frame (modules interlock together) https://www.facebook.com/modulosdesk/

poulsbohemian• 8 years ago

So it's an Ikea equivalent desk for $500 USD?

I'm in the market for a new desk, but this isn't doing anything for me, especially at that price point. Just yesterday I was looking at a sit/stand automatic up/down with built-in USB for nearly $200 less than that. It isn't even clear to me what if any of the replaceable slats I get - I went through the customization process, but other than the color and size it wasn't clear to me there was any options on the slats.

Looks beautiful, I just question its value proposition relative to other desks available from known entities (as well as in my domestic market)

yardshop2• 8 years ago

Hover over the slats on the table and you will get a pop-up menu that allows you to modify them. Then the total price shows at the bottom. The one I put together came to 447 GBP or $576. It doesn't look like they ship to the US but if they did I expect there would be a considerable increase in the cost.

It would probably be possible to have something similar built for less, especially if you had some woodworking capability and were able to build the slats yourself. This thing would probably have a lot more strength and flexibility than something that comes from Ikea.

sleepybrett2• 8 years ago

Why are the board edges not laminated and instead just exposed particleboard, they are going to get rubbed and start falling apart.

yardshop2• 8 years ago

It's baltic birch plywood, not particle board. It's extremely stable stuff and not going to fall apart even with a lot of rubbing.

Show HN: De-sk, modular office desk system

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