Foldable cardboard desk is a sustainable but funny way to work anywhere

The new hybrid work life has made it more popular to work anywhere you can put down a laptop, whether it’s on a desk or an actual lap. While that might be the easiest way to work away from home or the office, it isn’t always the most comfortable or the most feasible. Sometimes, you might not even have a table available for use, or those tables are too cramped for all of your work tools. In times like those, you might end up wishing you could always carry your own worktable where ever you go, and this lightweight foldable desk offers that possibility, and it’s kind on the planet as well. That is if you don’t mind looking a little odd in the process of carrying and working on cardboard.

Designer: Refold

There is definitely something liberating in being able to choose your work area, but that also comes with its own problems. You can’t literally work anywhere you want because there might not be enough space on a table or no tables at all. Laptops these days don’t really work on laps, at least not comfortably. You can take a foldable desk along with you, but most of those are heavy, awkward, cramped, or all of the above.

Refold solves all of that, except perhaps the awkwardness, using a material that is familiar to many DIY projects: cardboard. With just a few pieces that can fold down into a relatively thin rectangle, you can have a standing desk or a sitting desk, or both; anywhere there’s space for you to set up your ad hoc workspace. Yes, you will get amused or even judging looks while carrying a large canvas and setting up a cardboard desk, but you’ll be the envy of those same people when you show off how you can work peacefully in the middle of nature anytime you wish.

Of course, most of the incredulity will stem from the choice of cardboard as the one and only material for the desk since it doesn’t exactly have a good reputation for durability. Fortunately, that’s not the case here, with a triple-weaved, cross-paneled design that allows the table to hold a laptop, a monitor, and more. Cardboard isn’t also good with liquids, but an optional waterproof top gives you some peace of mind while also giving the desk a distinct white accent.

Admittedly, the Refold desk’s novelty won’t appeal to everyone, but it definitely looks like a more sustainable option for those that do find themselves trying to set up a desk outdoors. That said, it can also be used indoors as well, either to provide a unique aesthetic or to have a space-saving desk that you can assemble and disassemble in just minutes. Not only is it good exercise for your body, it can also act as a “bookend” to start and end your work day.