Much has changed in the past 50 years, and one of the many casualties of this change has been writing desks. These pieces of furniture, originally designed with many drawers and sometimes even a cabinet set above the writing space, were unable to adapt to the addition of computers to the home office, and are often ditched by the younger generations for massive desks that allow the space we need to fit all our stuff. But are writing desks down for the count, or can we still count them in?
The biggest problem with writing desks for us today is their lack of writing space. They’re big enough for some paper and pen (or inkwell if you go back far enough in history) but not a computer. They often have slots to help organize paperwork, which is not as big an issue as it was some years ago. So clearly they are at a disadvantage for everyone raised with a computer as part of their working and learning experience.
Today, writing desks are more of a luxury item. Like the similar secretary desk, they have become more of a decoration than a practical part of the household. But why not make writing letters by hand part of that luxury too? Writing actual physical letters has become such an unusual activity in our lives today, it has become more of a special type of event, happening rarely but being very exciting when it does. So instead of being sad about the loss of a piece of furniture that was so important a few decades ago, we now have something special to treat each other too, something that was mundane and dull just a few short years back.
It is time to celebrate writing desks not as a casualty, but as a reborn specialty piece that you can make someone’s day with. Join in with the celebration!