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Parents: We see you.
When Denver and the state adopted stay-at-home orders, you somehow managed to find enough hours in the day to create a home office, feed your brood, check in daily with extended family, and…oh, that’s right: homeschool your kids. We know it hasn’t been easy, but you’re doing it—and here’s something that could make it a smidge easier.
Back in March, Evan Jones was facing some of the same conundrums. His wife was beginning to work from home and needed a desk. It seemed like his 4-year-old daughter would like a space of her own as well. And, as luck would have it, he’s a custom furniture maker. He owns 8-year-old LVTD (pronounced “elevated”), and you’ve probably seen his work at restaurants around town, including Esters, Los Chingones, and Park & Co.
“I was going to put some legs on a piece of wood so [my wife] would have something,” Jones says, but he had another idea on the way to work that day: “Why not build a desk that is cost effective, that we can flat-pack so we can ship it anywhere on Earth, and that is easy to put together?”
Fast-forward just a few days and the “Homework” desk prototype—a sleek style with mid-mod vibes—had been designed and assembled by the LVTD team. The desk comes in two sizes, one perfect for kids and another designed for adults. Both are made of sustainably sourced, Baltic birch plywood. The desks feature two carved indents for pens, crayons, and more crayons; a small hole to feed laptop and charging wires through; and a simple ledge for storing papers, coloring books, and more coloring books.
The easy assembly (you just need a Phillips screwdriver) and price point—$188 (junior size) and $268 (adult size)—make the desk a quick solution for parents still using the kitchen table for phonics and math classes.
And the desk is having a moment of celebrity: It was pictured on the cover of a recent issue of People magazine that featured Jimmy Fallon, who’s been hosting the Tonight Show from his home. LVTD sent the comedian two desks after Fallon talked about using a makeshift one with his family. Jones didn’t know what would come of the gesture, so he was surprised to see it on the weekly’s cover.
Jones has plans to expand the line with a walnut version and is exploring the idea of working with local artists to create some one-off designs that could be auctioned off for charity. In the meantime, he hopes the desk can give families some sense of normalcy, a little division between work and play, and a chance to take back their kitchen tables. “It just made sense,” he says.
