Gear

This Backyard Tiny Office Is As Glorious As It Is Absurd

It's isolation, of the finest sort.

by Jon Gugala

As any parent who regularly attends Zoom meetings from the front seat of their car or a secret crawlspace can surely tell you, working from home during COVID-19 can be a nightmare. Every moment comes with the very real chance of having a parade of calamity marching into your workspace. Yes, it’s certainly a luxury to be able to do your job from within your own four walls. But finding a distraction-free area to crank through a to-do list is about as realistic as beating that Battletoads hover bike level. That’s why the Autonomous Zen Work Pod is so damn intriguing. While a completely ridiculous purchase in terms of cost and space, the all-in-one futuristic refuge/tiny office/work shed sure is fun to daydream about.

Just look at this pod. Surrounded on three sides by warm oak and walnut wood walls with a fourth made of tempered glass, you’d get plenty of ambient light in which to work. While not big enough for all that much (about seven feet by seven feet, with a ten-foot ceiling at its max height), the Zen Work Pod maximizes the space with built-in shelves and drawers, adjustable-height desk, and ergonomically-designed chair. In fact, the only thing you’d need to add is all the work stuff you’ve currently got strewn around the guest bedroom where you’ve been getting down to business since March.

Four outlets come standard with the pod pre-wired, and in order to connect it, you can just run an extension cord from your house or garage to power up. While the pod itself lacks air conditioning or heating, one of these outlets can be used to run a small unit (not included), which the company recommends.

In case you’re already having flashbacks to Ikea setup hell, the Zen Work Pod is shipped and assembled for free as all part of the price. Leave the complicated and inscrutable instructions to the Swedes; kick back and watch your new office come to life in the hands of professionals.

Is this pod reasonable? Not unless you live one of those very fancy homes featured in Peloton commercials and have $5,400 to burn. Regardless, it’s fun to imagine yourself tucked away in this light filled pod, calm and cool as you tear through to-do lists at rapid speed. Those in-car Zoom meetings do get very sweaty.

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Every product on Fatherly is independently selected by our editors, writers, and experts. If you click a link on our site and buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.