Show HN: De-sk, modular office desk system

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/

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! :)

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.

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...

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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/

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)

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

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

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