People in cramped apartments have had to choose between tables or shelves for ages. Without a desk, it’s difficult to get real, substantial work done. Without shelves, crap simply piles up around your apartment. But with the Deskbox desk-shelf hybrid, you get both, and it doesn’t take up any extra space.
The Deskbox, designed by British design team Raw Edges, is an answer to a contest to create new furniture from old mechanisms. In this case, the shelf expands in a way pretty similar to a jewellery box, offering twice the workspace without expanding its footprint. Pretty neat! There’s a lot of care that went into designing this piece, and it’s evident in the cord management: when sliding the desk shut, your laptop can stay plugged in, hiding inside the shelf. If you want one of these guys inside your home, it should be available soon, although mounting it solidly to a wall will be tricky. [RawEdges via Dezeen]