Does this sound familiar: living in a shoebox of a room in the centre of London with two other housemates, a lot of noise and no real working from home setup due to space? If so, you might want to keep reading.
Like so many people now, working from home can be difficult, especially when you don’t have the correct work setup. Whether it's your housemates singing in the background or your kids screaming at one another, it is important that you secure yourself a quiet space where you can crack on with no distractions.
For me, however, finding my own space in our house where I could place a standard desk and sort out my work setup didn't seem an option - until I was introduced to Amazon’s SOSTUDIO miracle folding desk.
Related: The ultimate work from home setup to keep you motivated
I think there is a general misconception around foldable or fold-away products that they're big, chunky, and used as a temporary alternative. Very convenient of course, but not something that would jump to mind especially as an in-house furniture piece. I can confirm, this is a myth! In recent years, these foldable staples and the idea of compact living has become more popular and a whole lot more stylish.
What is compact living?
By choice or not by choice, compact living usually occurs when you are working with small yet functional living spaces. Whether it’s a small apartment, house, or mobile home, the idea is to live with only the most important things based on a range of needs. It also means you must work with space-saving and multi-functional furniture.
It has been more than two weeks now that I've been living with this new SOSTUDIO folding industrial desk - in my shoebox of a room might I add - and wow, has it been my best furniture decision yet! Not only am I more focused and productive, but I can actually sit through an entire client call without having to quickly press my mute button and hope that everything’s OK.
The Review
I opted for the SOSTUDIO folding desk because I needed a stylish yet compact solution for my bedroom. I didn’t have a massive budget but wanted something that would last. As you can see in the image above, I was working with the world’s tiniest space, between my wardrobe and protruding wall. The SOSTUDIO desk jumped out to me for its minimalistic Danish style, funky warehouse design and natural tones. Coming in a beautiful rustic brown, I knew this SOSTUDIO desk was the one.
The desk arrived promptly (a few days after I ordered it), well packaged and quite light considering there were a few flights of stairs and it’s a desk we're talking about.
The building of this desk would, however, be its biggest downfall. As you can see in the image above, the folding desk came with very straight-forward instructions and all the necessary parts. I could get the back metal cross frame together with no issues.
But when it came to putting in the main eight screws, I found either the holes to be too small or the screws to be slightly too big. Luckily, I have two friendly males in the house who were prepared to get the hammer out and gently bang them into place. With a bit of elbow grease, this only took under 10 minutes to complete (it would have taken me a lot longer without assistance). The instructions show you exactly what needs to go where, and even has little stickers to help you through the process.
Once you’ve got the metal frame all sorted, it takes less than a minute to click in the desktop. And, the same amount of time to detach everything afterwards. I do this every single day before and after work, and It’s not an effort in the slightest. I would call it my lockdown Amazon miracle.
Features:
Dimensions: 100cm x 50cm x 75cm
The SOSTUDIO folding desk on Amazon is very stylish and looks fabulous in my bedroom. Although it’s not real wood, I am thankful because it’s smooth and level. The anti-scratch feature is a huge win for me as I tend to chuck both my laptops, lunch and all the work essentials on it when I am in a rush.
It’s durable, which is great, especially when I am collapsing it every day. The legs are also very stable and do not wobble on the floor. The whole foldable piece is very lightweight, making life a lot easier. I probably wouldn’t sit on it, but I think I could with its strong build.
Final Opinion
Would I recommend this desk? Yes. Despite it having very limited Amazon reviews (I think I am the only one) and a tricky 10-minute initial setup, it is exactly what I wanted and makes the perfect solution as a compact WFH desk. I can wake up to an empty bedroom and utilise my precious space in the evenings and over the weekend. I can then sit through work with a proper desk setup, in complete silence and without having to compromise on anything.
Not sure if I mentioned, but it fits behind my wardrobe like a glove and my towel even gets a piece of it. If I didn’t have a small space and need to worry about compact living, this desk is the definition of beautiful. Picture a spacious open-living loft flat… I need to say no more.
