#HTE

Yea or Nay? The WorkBox, a Hideaway Workstation and Storage Unit

For those who do desktop crafts, the WorkBox is a made-in-the-U.S.A storage unit and workstation that folds in on itself and hides everything away when not in use. Take a look:

The design of the storage units is undeniably intelligent. But after watching the video, I teetered back and forth on the UX. On the one hand, it’s fantastic to have that much storage and organization with such a small footprint, and it’s great that you can hide everything away when you’re not engaged in the work.

On the other hand, look at the size of the unit when closed: At three feet wide by three feet deep, it’s essentially a refrigerator. I can’t think of many pieces of furniture that intrude three feet into a room. And since it requires three feet of space to either side of it in order to fully unfurl, would it not make more sense to simply have a dedicated nine-foot-wide unit with less depth?

I suppose the key benefit is one of flexibility. The fact that it’s on wheels can sort of justify the size in that it can be wheeled, say, into a corner. (Though with something this massive, I’m not sure how often I’d be tempted to move it.) And as demonstrated in the video, in a tight space the doors could simply be opened 90 degrees rather than 180, trading some convenience for real estate.

Since I do not do the type of desktop work the WorkBox is designed for, perhaps I’m not the best judge of how effective a solution it is. For those of you that do engage in such work, how do you find the design?