Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Need to Dress up Your Office Space? Turn to This Portland Design Company

For most of us, our home office is a purely functional space. On the rare occasion when we’re allowed to work from home, it’s a place to crack open the laptop and hammer away on the keyboard for eight straight hours. Amid the ongoing pandemic, however, more people are working from home for the foreseeable future. Now more than ever, it’s important to actually enjoy our work-from-home (WFH) spaces. Few companies nail the perfect WFH aesthetic like Grovemade.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Average folks without a design degree or decorating sense have two real options for dressing up their home offices. The first is to cobble together a look from disparate pieces — a blotter from here, a mouse pad from there, and a pen cup from somewhere else. The result is usually haphazard at best. A second option is to buy a premade desk set. The worst of these from big box office supply stores look like something straight out of Clark Griswold’s office. Neither option is appealing.

Grovemade solves this problem with desk collections that are unique, handsome, and cohesive. The core collection includes essential pieces for any home office setup. At a minimum, most WFH-ers will want to start with a keyboard mat, a mousepad, a pen cup, and maybe a succulent planter. Adding a monitor shelf or laptop stand (depending on each user’s particular setup) helps round out the set. By relying on the time-tested “form follows function” approach, every piece is thoughtfully designed to look great and maximize utility. What truly sets Grovemade apart is its choice of upscale materials. Merino wool felt, polished brass, walnut wood, and vegetable-tanned leather all add touches of class and sophistication to every piece in its catalog.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Grovemade’s collection runs deeper than desk mats and monitor stands, however. To complement your WFH space, the company also offers beautiful, one-of-a-kind accessories. Machined metal pens and leather notebooks add old-school charm to any desk. The brand’s task knife (available in black, stainless steel, and brass) is a handsome, heirloom-quality tool milled from a solid piece of metal. Even the headphone stand and wireless charging pads are worthy of a MoMA Design Store Christmas catalog. Matching wall-mounted shelves and storage catch-alls are also available to wrangle your accessories in case you go overboard.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

We love “shopping small” to support local, hardworking, self-made businesses. So, the fact that Grovemade grew from a scrappy, garage-based Portland startup — a story that CEO Ken Tomita shared with us for The Manual Podcast — is a bonus. The brand’s catalog has expanded well beyond its original selection of wooden iPhone 4 cases. Its aesthetic has changed little in the decade since, however. If you’re looking to elevate your WFH space beyond that all-in-one desk set you bought from Staples in 2005, you could do a lot worse than Grovemade.

Don’t forget to accessorize the rest of your home office with the best products for a comfortable and productive work-from-home space.

Editors' Recommendations

Mike Richard
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…
What Companies Are Hiring During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
grocery store checkout

At a time when the news is filled with stories about people out of work, about swelling unemployment applications, and about so many of us in the American workforce who are still employed being forced to adapt to a new work-from-home paradigm, there are still a few bright spots for people looking for a job. Not every company is shedding workers off the payroll during this coronavirus pandemic. In fact, a number of companies are hiring in unprecedented numbers.

The job you score tomorrow might be cut again in a few months when COVID-19 is finally under control, but short-term employment is certainly better than a total lack of income -- just make sure you balance the benefits of working with the potential hazards of putting yourself out there right now, especially if you have any underlying conditions that make you more susceptible to complications caused by illness.

Read more
9 Job Interview Tips That Will Help You Land Your Dream Gig
man preparing for interview

You need money. To get money, you need a job. To get a job, you need to nail the interview, which sometimes seems easier said than done. Everyone knows the basics: dress nice, be polite, make eye contact, don’t lie about your experience, etc. Still, for every job opening there are an average of 118 applicants, only 20 percent of whom will be called for an interview.

Related:

Read more
Everything points to Apple TV+ making a change you’re not going to like
Is an ad-supported tier coming to Apple TV+?
The Apple TV Plus Logo

It turns out that TV worked pretty well under its old model. According to a new report from Business Insider, Apple TV+ may be the latest streaming service that's set to introduce an ad-supported tier and charge those who don't stream with ads a premium fee to access their great shows and movies.

At this point, the report is still speculation, but Apple has made several recent hires in the advertising space that seem to suggest the direction they're planning to take. The company recently hired former NBCUniversal ad executive Joseph Cady to serve as executive vice president of advanced advertising and partnerships, a move that comes following the company's hiring of another former NBCUniversal executive, Jason Frum, who joined Apple's video ad sales team.

Read more