Shopping for discount furniture with designer Lauren Rottet
By David A. Keeps
Lauren Rottet of Rottet Studio has designed office spaces for the likes of Disney, General Electric and the Rand Corp. The Home section asked her embark on a budget-minded shopping expedition in the San Fernando Valley, sharing tips along the way. One of her stops: Advanced Liquidators in North Hollywood, where she checked out the used file cabinets. Her philosophy: Mix different pieces instead of buying matched sets. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
A Queen Anne-style lord-of-the-manor chair was not to Rottet’s personal taste, she said. But in a less predictable environment, say in a post-and-beam house with a modern desk, it would really make a statement. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
A new Respond 3.1 task chair Cherryman Industries was tagged $440. With adjustable armrests, mesh back, leather seat and aluminum base, the chair caught Rottet’s eye as a handsome addition to any work space. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Rottet examined a midcentury office chair made from metal and noted that reuphostering the piece might cost more that the chair itself. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
With a rounded center section and a floating glass shelf, this new three-piece glass desk by Coaster caught Rottets eye at Advanced Liquidators. It was discounted to $279. Rottet approved of the frosted surface, which softens the view of the floor. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
To complement the desk: a rolling pedestal by Leda with a pencil drawer, file cabinet and blue glass top for $139. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
In the parking lot of Advanced Liquidators, Rottet found two refurbished metal work stations known as “tanker desks.” The Steelcase piece, top, had been powder-coated in fire engine red and was selling for $695. The pale green Office Master with an extra long work surface was $895. If I lived here, said Rottet, who has a Los Angeles office but is based in Houston, Id buy these and take them home right now. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
The best desk at Office Depot in Studio City, according to Rottet. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Rottet tests out the office chairs at Office Depot in Studio City. Before you buy an armchair, she says, make sure it can slide under the desk. Otherwise, it always will stick out and eat up valuable floor space. Similarly, choose cabinets with fronts that slide side-to-side instead of opening out.
To see a gallery of desks that can double as console tables, a credenza that hides work files and other clever designs for the home, click to our gallery of stealth office furniture. To read about the unexpected pitfalls of working from home and the solutions people devised to keep their residence from feeling like an office 24/7, read our feature story. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)