Living rooms & offices · Streatham, South London

A home office in a wall that was doing nothing

An awkward angled wall turned into a home office: shelving, a desk and a hidden drawer. It came with us when we moved.

Shelving and desk following the angle of the stairs, lit and full of books

WhereFirst floor flat, Streatham

Made forOur own family

Materials24 mm CNC machined MDF, LED lighting

Worth knowingTaken down and moved with us

The space

In our Streatham flat, the stairs coming up from the hallway below left us with a big angled wall, set back a little and doing nothing. We had a lot of books, my wife had a lot of files, and we needed somewhere to work. So the brief was simple: as much shelving as the wall would take, a desk, and lights to keep it bright.

Marking out the shelf layout on the bare wall with masking tape — Marking the layout out on the bare wall before anything was cut.

The curved desk seen through an arched doorway — The desk from the archway, stepping down with the stairs.

What I made

I designed it to be wall mounted. Three vertical posts bolt to the wall and a fourth screws in, and everything else slots into them. I had it CNC machined from 24 mm MDF, kept thick because of the long runs, and found room for a small drawer in the old bulkhead above the stairs. The angles of the bulkhead meant a fair bit of precision, but once the posts were up level and straight, the rest went together easily. I used knock-down fittings, the same sort IKEA uses, so it could come apart.

Vertical posts fixed to the wall with a spirit level on top — The posts go up first, level and straight.

The first shelves slotted into the posts — Then the shelves slot in.

A post with slots and knock-down fittings — The shelves lock in with knock-down fittings, so it all comes apart.

Close-up of the LED strip under a shelf — The LED strip. Next time it gets a proper diffuser.

The finished shelving and desk, lit and empty — Finished and lit, before the books went in.

It came with us

That turned out to matter. When we sold the flat, the buyers didn't want it, so I took it down, filled the holes, repainted, and it came with us. It now lives on as office shelving and a desk for my wife in our new house. When you're investing in furniture, it's worth remembering it might move with you.

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