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Home office definitely has been a furniture category that's pushed forward with innovation in an ever-evolving electronics environment. And the new features are of such interest that they garner a fair amount of coverage in shelter magazines and other consumer media.
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The category certainly lends itself to design and function with the end user in mind. I'll be especially interested to see if there's any new convergence this year between furniture and electronics.

Last fall, a Washington Post article told about Sligh and its Family Communication Center. The cabinet/desk/console/docking combination was so novel and unique it left us wondering what category it belonged in.

How often do we contemplate a brand new category of furniture?

Although they've been out for a few markets, Hekman's laptop desks also bear watching for the latest developments. They're about the size of a writing desk, the center opens, and you can slide your laptop right in.

What I like is the thought behind the concept — a desk specifically designed with laptop users in mind.

During premarket in High Point I visited Hooker Furniture, which is introducing a docking station feature on a new desk, which seems likely to get a positive response from buyers at this month's High Point Market.

One discussion in Hooker's showroom centered on new opportunities for popular traditional furniture, such as the rolltop desk. Rolltop desks may have fallen out of favor when computer monitors and towers were bigger, but flat-panel screens and laptops are breeding new opportunities in the category, and maybe in other once-waning products as well.

The company also continues to focus on convergence. In the same Washington Post article that featured Sligh, Hooker was cited for its secretary that can accommodate a flat-panel TV, and also has a drop-lid writing surface that can hold a laptop. It's in an attractive European country style.

And if you haven't heard about Herman Miller's eCoupled technology on contract office furniture — which transfers power to phones or iPods through a magnetic field — you will. I've seen many mentions of this feature in the contract field, and I wonder if we'll see the technology migrate into the residential market in some form.

Home office is undergoing a renaissance as electronics markets change. The category's style leaders are doing a good job of keeping their product lines fresh, so furniture doesn't get left behind as times change.

Copyright © 2007. Furniture Today.