Working from home with children.

Leonhard Pfeifer, making ‘Work from home’ look easy!

Working at home during COVID-19 pandemic lock down, Porto 2020

Leonhard is home right now ‘working’ with our sick 6 year old under foot. Which has us thinking once again about lockdowns, homeschooling and working from home.

Working from home is a privilege, one that we are lucky to have. Working from home and homeschooling kids is a privilege too, and we are grateful for our healthy (mostly), happy (again, mostly…) children.

But, working from home with kids is not easy, right? Our smallest one is constantly wanting attention and underfoot, or in this case, under-desk and upside-down.  Which warrants his ongoing exploration of the question ‘Why sit upright if you can be upside-down?’ Children have a way of keeping you in the present, probably because they are upside-down, helping you to see your surroundings full of the beauty and wonder that they see.

(L-R) Gifted leaves, preliminary sketches of Pauli concept and a close-up of helpful children!

I have had a little leaf sitting on my desk for over a year now. Gifted to me by our little one when he was only 5 years old, it was probably picked up when we were walking to or from his school and put into my pocket. 

This week at the studio I was flicking through some old sketchbooks of Leonhard’s, looking for the original sketches and ideas of our Pauli coffee table and Pauli desk, when a second little leaf dropped out of his book. Leonhard is quite meticulous with his sketches, so every new idea or thought he sketches has a date written on the top of the page. The little leaf was in the crease of his book, marked 13 October 2020. 

Our young son had gifted both his parents on separate occasions with the same type of leaf. Both delicate and fragile and both with similar signs of decay.

I love the idea of inherent sensibilities and wonder if these are nurtured or naturally present in our children. Both probably… His parents see the world each in a particular way - one for what is real and one for what can be imagined. 

I like to think of what can be imagined - fluid and changeable, whereas Leonhard likes to think in realistic terms, solid and dependable. Our work is the marriage of both these ideologies and one that we embrace.

Above - Pauli desk shown in Black/Oak or White/Oak colour variations, the metal rectangular hollow section legs have matching sheet steel side-pockets that are folded up and onto the oak veneer desktop work surface. Designed and produced in Europe and now available from Otto.de

While you are here, let us introduce you to some new additions to our ‘Work from home’ furniture - Pauli desk and Pauli coffee table. The coffee table has two soft draping side pockets that are perfect for catching all sorts of living room stuff. Flexible and expanding to help organise all 'the extras' that build up in your (or it is just my home that is overflowing with stuff?) living space. The Pauli desk has sturdy, secure storage bins running the length of the desk to keep all your work ‘extras’ handy. 

Above - Pauli coffee table shown here in Black/Oak and also available in White/Oak colour options. The metal rectangular hollow section legs have matching draped fabric side-pockets that are folded up and onto the oak veneer table surface. Designed and produced in Europe and now available from Otto.de

Pauli desk is available in Black/Oak or White/Oak colour variations, the metal rectangular hollow section legs have matching sheet metal side-pockets that are folded up and onto the oak desktop work surface. 

Pauli coffee table is also available in Black/Oak or White/Oak colour variations, the metal rectangular hollow section legs have matching fabric side-pockets that are folded up and onto the oak table surface. 

Designed and produced in Europe Pauli desk and Pauli coffee table are now available to shop from Otto.de.