Studies
A study that works is a rare thing. We have made desks, fitted libraries and storage for people who work from home, who have archive collections, who need a room that can be both professional and domestic.
Cantilevered Desk: designed for a modern home office
How we work
The brief is usually the same: make it beautiful enough to want to be in, practical enough to work in, and specific enough that it could not belong to anyone else. These things are not in tension: a desk designed for how you actually work will also be the best-looking desk in the room.
All work is designed and made at Lime Tree Studio & Workshops in Hindon, Wiltshire, in solid British hardwoods.
The desk
The desk is the centre of the room. We have made desks in every configuration: kneehole, partner, flat, standing, angled. The choice of form usually emerges from how you actually work, not from convention. Most of our desks are in solid timber, with leather or oiled surfaces depending on the brief.
Shelving and storage
A study needs shelving that is sized for what goes on it. Books, box files, A3 portfolios and framed photographs all have different requirements. We design storage that has been thought through, rather than standard shelving adapted to fit a space it was not designed for.
The room as a whole
We are happy to design a complete study, including desk, shelving, chair and cupboards, or to contribute one piece to a room that is otherwise furnished. Many of our study commissions grow from a single good desk into a full scheme once the possibilities become clear.
Selected study work
Common questions
Can you design the whole room?
Yes. We can design and make every element of a study, including desk, shelving, storage and window seat, as a single coherent commission. A study designed as a whole tends to feel very different from one assembled piece by piece. We are happy to discuss either approach.
What about cable management?
Cable management is built into the design rather than resolved afterwards. Desk drawers and modesty panels can conceal cable runs; we design in grommets, trunking and power access points from the start. It is much easier to resolve during design than to retrofit into a finished piece.
Fitted or freestanding shelving?
Fitted shelving makes better use of space and integrates with the architecture. Freestanding pieces can move with you. In most studies the right answer is a combination: fitted where the room dictates it, freestanding where flexibility matters. We will help you think this through.
Do you make partner desks?
Yes. We have made a number of partner desks, designed for two people to work facing each other, and they are among the most satisfying commissions to design, because the brief is specific and the piece has to work hard on both sides.
How long does a study commission take?
A single desk commission takes 12–14 weeks from deposit. A full study scheme, desk, shelving and storage, may take 16–20 weeks depending on complexity. We will give you a realistic timeline at the outset.
From the archive
Desks, partner desks, fitted shelving and complete study schemes, made over four decades for writers, lawyers, architects, farmers and anyone else who spends serious time at a desk.