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Objects of Design #318: Cardboard Desk

white cardboard desk paperweight
white cardboard desk paperweight available from ecocentric for £155

Yes that’s right cardboard. It doesn’t look like it does it? Now there’s nothing new about cardboard furniture; Frank Gehry was making it back in the late sixties, and his wiggle side chair is still available now, but it’s certainly becoming more mainstream.

flute pro paperweight cardboard desk in soft grey
flute pro paperweight cardboard desk in soft grey

Made from extra strong cardboard with a varnished desk top, the two chamfered legs can be positioned in two ways, depending on your preference. According to the blurb, it can be assembled in three minutes (take that Ikea) and comes with a cable management tray as well as slots for cables to access your equipment so they don’t have to trail all over the top.

the paperweight desk also comes in light blue
the paperweight desk also comes in light blue
The desk was created by Mary Dorrington Ward and Rod Fountain who set up Flute Office in 2002. They began selling standard office furniture, but by 2008 realised that the commercial furniture market was changing and sold that business to devote time and resources looking at alternative materials and production techniques. They concentrated on the use of paper and board, materials that were in plentiful supply and 100 per cent sustainable and that had still not been widely exploited for the manufacture of furniture.

The Paperweight was launched in 2010 and the range now includes a storage cabinet that fits underneath.

flute pro pedestal
flute pro pedestal

It also comes in soft blue and grey and Flute Office also stock eco-friendly chairs to complete the range.

eco friendly coloured chairs from fluteoffice.com
eco-friendly coloured POP chairs from fluteoffice.com

The POP chair is polymer air moulded chair, 100 per cent recyclable, uses no screws and costs £35. Exactly.

According to Nigel’s Eco Store, who also sell the desk, with moderate use it should last for ten years, with heavy use three. Even so that makes it pretty good value for money.

 

 

 

Tags : cardboard furnitureeco-friendly
Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.