I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure that the Under-Desk Wire Tray was designed around the the concept of cable hooks, which have long been used to support certain types of aerial and wall mounted cable runs. Cable hooks are generally lined up at short intervals, after which small cable bundles can be run through them, with the hooks conveying and providing support for the cables as they travel from Point A to Point B.

The Under-Desk Wire Tray, being made up of a row of 15 slightly-spaced hooks, is more or less set up to work the same way, but just on a smaller scale. That, and it hides under your desktop as opposed to being suspended from the ceiling or mounted on a wall. I don’t know about you, but this really appeals to me, because I prefer my cable management to be invisible, if at all possible.

So why would someone go and miniaturize cable hooks and stick them under a desk? Probably because that row of little hooks gives you the freedom to add or remove cables at any point along the way, and works as a nice place to stash power strips and bulky power adapters out of range of your feet (this sounds really good to me, because I’m always accidentally kicking my surge protector). Another benefit of having cables and power strips up off the floor is that they’re less likely to become dust bunny traps when they’re kept elevated, so that makes it a lot easier for you to keep your workstation clean, and gives you a lot less to sneeze about. And that, my friends, is nothing to sneeze at.

Well, not just any desk grommets… to be more specific, the new round two-piece grommets that we just started carrying. They’re simple, but extremely cool, because they come in (as you’ve gathered) two separate parts: the sleeve, which is the section that lines the actual hole cutout in your desk or countertop, and the snap-on top, which narrows the opening so that it fits snugly around the wire and cables traveling through it. Up to this point, most grommets have been a one-piece hybrid of the two parts, but someone had the outstanding idea to go deconstructionist on these, and I really think it works.

Why? Because you can use both components together, or take the more-laid back approach and just stick with the sleeve. The complete solution is perfect for routing cables (as usual), but what really intrigues me is the sleeve-only option, and the suggestion that, when you’re dealing with the large-diameter 4″ grommet, the sleeve can actually be fashioned into a sort of through-desk trash chute.

Ever noticed how in some restaurant bathrooms, there’s a cutout in the sink vanity, into which you toss your used paper towels? Well, now you can do the same thing to your desk! Just use a hole saw to cut out an opening, snap in a grommet sleeve for a finishing touch, line your wastepaper basket up below the hole, and start dropping your small paper trash right through your desktop. Bombs away!

The new cord tamer in my life is named the Cable Corral, and I love it for its simplicity. It’s basically just a steel basket that mounts to the underside of your desktop, giving you a place to stash power strips, peripherals and long cables out of sight – without affecting your connectivity. This is great for antsy desk-dwellers like me, who need to frequently stretch their legs below-desk throughout the day to avoid both muscle atrophy and general insanity. It’s always nice to be able to do this without getting a foot caught in a pile of cable slack, or accidentally kicking a power supply.

And installation is so easy – the Cable Corral screws right into the underside of your desk, and then you just pile in everything you want to keep clear of the floor and out of sight. No need to precisely bundle or wind cords, no cover malfunctions – just stash your stuff, and let your feet enjoy the newfound wide open roaming space where there was none before.

Whatever happened to the days when you could prop a book on your desktop if you needed to, or maybe a stack of papers that needed perusing? When you could find a clear spot on your worksurface where you could set down and actually sign an expense report, without your pen running off the edge? They may feel long gone, but you’re about to get them back, compliments of the Crossbar Mounting System.The Crossbar is an extremely cool workspace accessory that mounts right onto the back of your desk, and gives you a strong, elevated horizontal bar on which to mount everything that’s been cramping your work style. Flat-panel computer monitors, small peripherals, even mail trays and organizers – they can all be made to hover gracefully above your work surface, instead of hogging it and making things cluttered.

The Crossbar Mounting System is made of sleek, shiny aluminum and steel, so it’s a great modern-looking complement to flat panel monitors and other office tech. Once it’s installed and everything is attached, all of your work accessories are located at eye level, right in front of you, so you can see everything at a glance, and still have plenty of free desktop space to actually make yourself comfortable and get things done.

Why all of the weird and whimsical designs? Because cable management is boring. Boring but necessary. Yet the necessity of it all becomes a little less mundane if you can use products that add fun and novelty to practicality. Heck, that’s what keeps my attention. Keep thinking of ways to make cable management interesting, and you’ll keep me on the line.

But what if you’re a regular non-geek who doesn’t need to be amused by their wire management devices? What if you just want something that will keep your computer cables in line, and prevent them from falling behind your desk when you unplug them? In that case, I’d fast-forward right past the cord winders and wire-hiders, and bring you to a screeching halt right in front of the Keep-a-Cable. This cord anchoring system is cheap, simple, and pretty much as no-frills as they come, but you know what? It works.

Here’s how: The Keep-a-Cable is basically a flat, flexible piece of plastic that has peel and stick adhesive on one side, and cable slots on the other. You just peel off the backing, adhere the Keep-a-Cable to the back of your desk (behind your computer), and then pop your cables into the slots (you can see a live-action video demonstration of this here). These slots are wide enough so that the cables can move freely, but narrow enough so that connectors can’t slip through and fall to the floor. When you need to plug a peripheral into your computer, you can just reach to the back of your desk and grab the corresponding cable, instead of crawling around on the floor to find it. Then, when you’re done, you just unplug and leave the cord resting in the Keep-a-Cable, ready to go for next time.

As it turns out, they do, and you’ll be happy to know that they’re not the standard-issue round plastic ones that you usually see in desks. You have to step it up a notch for a conference room, right? You bring visitors in there! But I digress. I’ll just tell you about the MHO® conference table grommet.

Conference tables are bigger than desks, so it just goes to reason that grommets made for them should be a little more substantial, right? The MHO® grommet is rectangular in shape, and distinctly bigger in size, measuring approximately 8″x4″. It’s also refreshingly free of flat black plastic, instead made out of very sleek and modern-looking anodized aluminum. The MHO® further differs from your run-of-the-mill grommet in that it doesn’t spend all it’s time as a gaping hole in your tabletop – it actually has a flip-open lid that closes flush with your table when not in use, so you have the benefit of a solid, flat, continuous workspace.

But the really great thing about the MHO® grommet is that it matches the extremely popular MHO® desktop power and data center. If you’ve already installed an MHO® power/data unit, you can still opt for a grommet, too, without worrying about what your conference table will look like with an unharmonious mix of extras installed – everything will look clean and uniform.

This sleek little beauty has clean lines, a satiny aluminum finish, and mounts more or less dead-flush into your worksurface, so visually speaking, there’s absolutely nothing to complain about. Flip the lid open, and you’ll find a neat row of the outlets and ports of your choice: power, data (internet), USB… you can even order one that has an iPod dock in the mix. Nice. It’s work and listening pleasure, all rolled into one and stashed just below the surface of your desk. Sneaky, efficient, aesthetically pleasing – what more could you want?

Lest you walk away from this blog post thinking that the only reason to buy an in-desk PDU is so you don’t have to crawl under your desk to plug in, let me just say: “but that’s not all!” One of my favorite features is that the Ellora™ totally gets rid of cord clutter on and behind your desk, so you don’t have to look at or get tangled up in computer cables. Even better.

Mahogany. That’s right – this baby may be part white laminate, but I’m happy to say that all the important details are done in real, gorgeous mahogany. Legs, trim, grommet edging – you name it. This could be my ticket out of particle board prison!

The built-in faux leather laptop pad. Yes, it may be fake, but it’s also kind of chic, and does the very important job of keeping your laptop from sliding all over the place. Besides, wouldn’t you rather rest your wrists on a soft surface instead of cold, hard desktop?

The lack of visual cables. This is the part where I tell you that the faux leather laptop pad actually covers a slide-out tray that conceals the most magical part of the desk – a built-in cable management compartment. This secret hideaway has plenty of room to fit power strips, USB hubs, and even excess wiring, so instead of looking at multiple cords traveling around your desktop and stretching to wall outlets, you’ll only get an eyeful of clean lines and beautiful, clutter-free minimalism.

Well, I think you’ll find that my greed is justified. And now if you’ll excuse me, I have to shop for a laptop, and possibly a brick-walled downtown loft apartment. I think my future StudioDesk would look outstanding in one of those.

Design-wise, it’s almost ridiculously simple – in a good way. It’s a sleek, rounded-corner box with cable slots in each end, and a lid that fits on top. Operation is equally simple: you just pick up your standard-size power strip, plugs and all, and drop it into the CableBox. Attached cables can be routed out of the box via one or both slots, and then you just pop the lid on. Power strip? What power strip?

The CableBox is available in black or white, but either color can be repainted to match your walls or floor if you’re looking to achieve an even higher level of power strip stealth. And what’s really nice is that the CableBox has low-profile rubberized feet (pads, really) attached to the bottom, so whether you park it on the floor or along the back of an entertainment center, it won’t slide around on you.                                                         

When it comes to electronics, the most important part of heat dissipation is proper air circulation. If air can’t move relatively freely around devices, heat builds up and temperatures climb. This explains why you’ve probably seen a number of “laptop lift” products out there. In theory, they’re a great idea, but I’m not really crazy about the concept of balancing a piece of expensive techology on several different pieces of plastic. Too much room for error – and klutzes. That’s why I was pretty taken with the BlueLounge Space Station the first time I saw it – there’s no balancing act involved.

More than just a laptop lift, the one-piece Space Station desk organizer not only raises the rear of your notebook to allow plenty of air circulate, but also tips the keyboard forward at a pleasantly ergonomic angle, so your wrists and fingers are saved from any unnecessary fatigue or discomfort. Add to that the fact that this docking station has a 4 port USB hub for really convenient connectivity, built-in cable management, cell phone and PDA holders and even an accessory bar to hold business cards, and you have a desk accessory that’s truly worthy of a name like Space Station.