When you work from home, digital accessories, notebooks and office supplies have a way of multiplying and migrating into other rooms, creating a mess. That’s where a rolling storage cart can help.
With shelves, drawers or baskets to contain the clutter — and casters that allow it to move between rooms — a cart can go where you need it and serve multiple functions.
“It can be tucked under a desk,” said Alda Ly, a New York-based architect who has designed a number of offices, including multiple outposts of the Wing, a co-working company. “Or you can pull it up in front of the sofa and use it as a laptop stand.” Some also double as stools.
To find the right cart for your needs, consider how and where you’ll use it.
In a proper home office, “something like a filing cabinet on casters might make a lot of sense,” Ms. Ly said, to hold reams of documents. “But if you’re working from your couch or your dining room, something that matches the aesthetic of your space is more appropriate. It doesn’t have to look like a filing cabinet.”
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Is open or closed storage better? “That really depends on what you’re using it for,” Ms. Ly said. “A small drawer can fit things like a camera, headphones, mice, chargers and cables. But if you need access to books and binders, that’s something completely different” — and open shelves may be preferable.
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How tall should it be? To maximize storage under your desk, the cart should be slightly lower than your work surface, so you can tuck it underneath, Ms. Ly said. If you want to use it as a laptop stand or stool, shorter is also better.
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Does it have to have been designed a storage cart? No, Ms. Ly said: “A smaller bar cart or bedside table could be a great option, especially if you’re looking for something that doesn’t scream ‘office storage.’”
Magis 360° Container
Plastic cart with swing-out compartments by Konstantin Grcic
$595 at Herman Miller: 888-798-0202 or store.hermanmiller.com
Lexington Three-Tier Rolling Cart
Metal storage cart by Recollections
About $30 at Michaels: 800-642-4235 or michaels.com
Rockwell Unscripted Mobile Storage Cart
Rolling stool/table with basket and flip-up plywood top by David Rockwell
$874 at Knoll: 800-343-5665 or knoll.com
Hide Pedestal
Powder-coated steel storage unit/table by Karoline Fesser
$359 at Hem: 310-980-3029 or us.hem.com
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