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The old adage is true: There is strength in numbers. When one simple object is coupled with a matching mate (or grouped with a few siblings), its style and usefulness multiply exponentially.

With this easy math you can make unique, customizable, and affordable designs that fit seamlessly into your home.

Double Desk
What good luck, what bad luck: You have space for a home office...but you have to share it. Popular opinion prescribes using the same desk or lining two against a wall, but face-to-face is far more fun: This workstation creates two zones without breaking up the room. Light (and enlightenment) flow freely; walls are left open for books.

Start with two simple desks.

Insert a Plexiglass panel

Push the desks together, back to back.

Desk How-To
Look for slender worktables so your finished product won't resemble Briscoe and Curtiss setup at the 27th Precinct. To determine the dimension of the Plexiglas divider, measure the width and height of one desk, then add 28 inches to the height. Our fluorescent-pink acrylic sheet is a quarter-inch thick with polished edges (ask for them when you order it from the plastics supplier). Position the sheet between the desks, push them together, and voila -- the weight of the tables will secure the center panel. With binder clips or artists tape, the divider doubles as a chic bulletin board.

Materials: Simple work tables, $249 each, westelm.com. Plexiglas panel (color #2085),$200, Canal Plastics Center, 212-925-1666 (or look up "Plastics Supplier" in the Yellow Pages). "Nordmyra",chairs, $35 each, ikea.com for stores. "Hi-Light" task lamp,$69, pbteen.com. Structure letter tray set, $21, seejanework.com for stores.

First Published: May/June 2007