10 years of FLATMATE

In conversation with designer Michael Hilgers

The FLATMATE secretary is celebrating its tenth anniversary. But what exactly makes this secretary so special—and above all: what sets it apart from other secretaries on the market? You’ll find the answers to these and many more questions in our big anniversary interview!

FLATMATE, when closed, takes up a footprint of just 0.09 m², making it quite possibly the smallest fully equipped secretary on the market. Thanks to its shallow depth and simple, discreet appearance, it can transform long old-building hallways into a home office, provide a space for writing letters in the bedroom, or serve as a temporary workspace in a weekend house. This reinterpretation of the classic secretary has appealed to mobile users in particular—and has done so for 10 years now! Just in time for the anniversary, a special edition with linoleum coating has been released. A perfect reason to sit down with designer Michael Hilgers to talk about his successful “flat mate.”

Michael, the FLATMATE design is now celebrating its 10-year anniversary and is more popular than ever as a home office piece. What makes this design so special to you?

Michael:
The continued success of FLATMATE keeps confirming my once rather daring business approach: to use my design studio primarily to develop innovative, functional products for niche markets. And that decision turned out to be absolutely right.

Back in the early 2010s, no one could have foreseen how relevant a space-saving piece of furniture for working from home would become—what with skyrocketing real estate prices, global pandemics, or the now-ubiquitous topic of remote work. Today, FLATMATE has created its own market, and of course, parts of our industry have been “inspired” by it. I’m a little proud of that.

Beyond that, FLATMATE isn’t just one design among many—it also represents an important chapter in my life. With this (quite literally) flat mate, I’ve been through nearly everything: we’ve won design awards, we’ve been copied, it helped me become more recognized as a designer and to find my own voice. And ultimately, FLATMATE is also a key part of my business success.
As a manufacturer, we’re especially committed to the topic of sustainability.

You once beautifully said that FLATMATE has sustainability in its DNA. What exactly do you mean by that?

Michael:
These days, especially large online furniture retailers slap the rather empty label “sustainable” on nearly every cheap piece of furniture: desks, dressers, etc., are thrown together from particle board somewhere in Eastern Europe or Asia; then they’re finished with drawer handles made from “renewable resources” and some questionable certification. The marketing gives it all a Scandinavian-sounding name, and voilà—you have a product that appears sustainable to the average consumer.

But that’s just greenwashing, and it has nothing to do with sustainability in its truest sense. Customers are misled into thinking that consumption is now good for the environment and that they don’t have to feel guilty for buying as many supposedly eco-friendly budget products as they want. This applies to nearly every industry.

The term sustainability actually comes from forestry and originally means that no more wood should be harvested than can grow back. Had we planted a seedling of a European birch (the wood used for the plywood in FLATMATE) in front of the Müller factory ten years ago at the start of production, that tree would now tower over the neighboring apartment building.
Thanks to its design concept, FLATMATE also uses about 60% less material than a comparable piece of case furniture with “normal” depth—while offering the same functionality. That is sustainability in the most literal sense.

FLATMATE will probably continue to prove useful in many homes long after advertising agencies have moved on from the current hot topic of “sustainability.” Thanks to its simple, minimalist design, the secretary fits into any era. It fills both spatial and functional niches, making it far more than a trendy, easily replaceable piece of furniture. It serves as a discreet, practical roommate for many years—one that doesn’t age.
Combined with its high-quality craftsmanship “Made in Friesland” and raw materials traditionally sourced from Northern Europe, FLATMATE is a potential heirloom piece.

In other words: FLATMATE doesn’t care one bit about the often superficial trend of sustainability—because it's been inherently sustainable for 10 years now. It simply can’t help it. It’s authentic.

As an anniversary edition, FLATMATE is now available in a linoleum version. What makes this material so fitting in your eyes?

Michael:
Usually, only work surfaces (like desktops) are covered with furniture linoleum because of its extremely pleasant tactile feel, anti-static nature, and durability. As far as I know, FLATMATE is the first secretary to be completely (inside and out) finished in this surface made from renewable materials.
Thanks to the seamless mitered construction, this edition of the secretary now looks like a monolith—a cube made of an unusual, high-quality, and largely natural material.

The shell made from 2 mm thick Forbo Desktop (composed of linseed oil, resins, wood flour, and limestone powder) adds an extra sensual dimension to the minimalist piece when paired with the new homey colors. It’s like experiencing this compact classic all over again. Since linoleum adjusts to room temperature, FLATMATE feels especially pleasant to the touch. The subtle yet distinctive scent of the easy-care surface gives this pragmatic, functional secretary a whole new quality—you just want to keep touching it...

Rising property prices and housing shortages almost demand a piece like FLATMATE. For someone unfamiliar with it—what sets FLATMATE apart from other secretaries?

Michael:
FLATMATE is reduced to the truly essential functions of modern home working: storage, outer dimensions, and internal organization have been optimized so the user gets a fully equipped functional piece on the smallest possible footprint.
With a depth of only 12.5 cm, the body opens up spaces that are inaccessible to a conventional secretary: whether it's a narrow hallway, the leftover space behind a bedroom door, or a niche in the kitchen—FLATMATE discreetly transforms these otherwise difficult-to-use zones of our homes into practical and unobtrusive workspaces.
Most importantly, though, it features a kind of “built-in end-of-workday” function: once your day’s work is done, you turn off the integrated LED lighting, fold up the desk—and nothing reminds you of a workplace anymore...

There’s a rumor that our senior manager, Dierk Müller, discovered you and FLATMATE at the IMM in Cologne—and responded in his typically understated North German manner. Would you share the story with us?

Michael:
Indeed, I had already shown my design the previous year at my own small IMM stand. Back then, it seems FLATMATE was still a little ahead of its time, because the feedback was quite limited. It wasn’t until I added a tablet holder to the design—just as the first iPad came out—that the trade show audience began to take notice.
Among the many visitors to my booth was none other than Dierk Müller.

I still vividly remember how he clasped his hands behind his back, leaned slightly forward, and, peering over his reading glasses, observed my prototype from a distance. Then the senior murmured (with a distinct North German accent) the decisive words:
“Well, that’s interesting.”

Back then, I had no idea that this small moment would become such a major milestone in FLATMATE’s career...