Finding time to spend with my family, work, and hobbies is challenging most days. I am sure this is not any different in any other household. Discovering ways to have a balanced life is always on my mind and always something I strive for. One of the ways I achieve this is to be able to multi-task. I used to have all my drawing tablets setup in a room in the basement; not only was this lonely, but I wasn’t able to spend time with my wife after my daughter went to bed. My predicament always was “How in the hell am I going to get my wife and art in the same place?”. I didn’t think my wife would go for hanging out in my very small and narrow basement studio nor would she approve of having a work desk sitting in our bedroom. I went into brainstorming overdrive for many months and came up with several ideas that completely failed. The last idea came to me after I saw an ad online for an ergo computer chair that was similar to this:
I currently had an ergo-arm holding my drawing tablet on my home office desk. I also had a really comfortable chase lounge in the corner or my bedroom; which I called permanent squatters right to. Don’t worry, my wife Jen has a very comfortable recliner in the opposite corner of our bedroom. That will teach her not to buy things for herself and put them on my side of the bed. So, the dilemma was how to attach a two dual monitor ergo-arm to a chase lounge without making it look like a complete eyesore and avoid Jen being mad for destroying the furniture she intended to be for her. With some careful planning, I accomplished this by attaching a 2×4 and a 1×4 to the chase lounge to support the weight of the two heavy Wacom drawing tablets. I was able to put some heavy duty screws on the underside of the chase lounge and only two screws into the side of the chair. The rest of the support was from the 1×4 that rested on the floor. I painted the wood to match the color of the chair so it somewhat appeared to be a cohesive piece of furniture. Here are some pictures of the finished product:
I am not saying this is for everyone and I am fairly certain that most wives would not approve, but this works for us. Jen was gracious enough to let this stay and she appreciated the fact that I put in so much effort and planning to be able to be in the same room with her. This allowed us to both be productive and still communicate/hangout with each other. In the end, the monstrosities attached to the chase lounge are insignificant for the simple fact that we can be together, have balance and be happy.
Recent Comments