How to build a Japanese-style heated floor desk
I’m all about floor-furniture like the kotatsu, a 14th-century invention used in many Japanese homes all winter. It’s like the floor-oriented table often associated with Japanese homes, but with the added convenience of a heater and blanket. Sometimes I have daydreams about how awesome it would be to have one of these suckers. SO WARM. So cozy. None of the crampy discomfort of a western-style desk!
I’ve got a little floor-desk of my own going on, and this IKEA hack came just in time for me to play with.
Quick and easy exercises you can do at your desk in 7 minutes or less
I’m not an exercise buff by any means — the most I do is yoga three times a week, when I’m really disciplined about it. Most of the time my schedule (working from home + parenting a small child = I’m all over the place) makes regular yoga attendance a challenge. However, this doesn’t mean I don’t like to at least feel like I’m being healthy while I’m sitting at my desk for a few hours each day. To combat the overall feeling of ick that I generally get, I created this series of small exercises to do to keep my circulation up and spirit happy.
A pink room in Russia on January 1 and a hot pot of stewing bison meat in this week’s reader photos
Start your week with our collection of interesting articles on the web and photos from our readers. This week: a couple images of wild and foraged food and a link to detailed photos from inside a house based on Up! In these Clicky Links you’ll find lots of sites to waste a little time on.
Click through, too, to find our links on submitting YOUR stuff to Offbeat Home!
Your cube is your castle: TONS of non-standard desk decor without a cliche in sight
Wanted: ideas for cheap and easy cubicle decor. Already considered: potted plants, pretty pictures, subversive cross-stitchnarf.
Do not want: Anything that smells or makes noise or blinks.
Turning a bookcase into a standing desk — super-perfect for the DIY-challenged
This is an embarrassingly simple project. Not a single item was purchased, nor a single tool used. I’m a hands-on, DIY kind of chick, but for this hack, you don’t have to be.
Steampunk wonderama in a Massachusetts Victorian/arts and crafts home
Traipse through the Rosenbaum’s New England home and wonder at the ingenuity of their thoroughly steampunked Victorian. If you’ve NEVER dreamed of a steampunk house, this is your post.
Plus — the BEST way to hang a TV. Ever.
Antique sewing machine is reborn as chic computer desk for a DIY master
Evita scored a neat old Singer sewing machine at her Goodwill. When it turned out it was beyond repair, Evita turned to her DIY-skills to turn her frown upside-down.