It’s hard to get excited about practical products—not practical in the way of kitchen sinks or drawer pulls, practical in the way of very specific everyday uses, such as the monitor arm. I’ve heard no person wax poetic about a monitor arm, adjustable or not. They serve an important work function, but sadly, do not have the cache of a well-designed task chair (now those can be very exciting). Ah yes, I’m still dreaming of the Generation Chair, ever since it cradled my back. But let’s return to the monitor arm. New from Knoll is the Sapper Monitor Arm Collection, designed by, you guessed it, Richard Sapper.

Sapper Monitor Arm Collection. Designed by Richard Sapper

The rest of this post will have to be as no-nonsense as the object itself, so here are the stats. The Sapper Monitor Arms mount flat panel monitors in one-, two-, and three-arm configurations; they each hold up to 20 pounds; the mast comes in 8-, 12-, 16-, 24-, and 32-inch heights. The range of movement cannot be ignored either: how about 180-degree swivel side to side, 140-degree tilt up and down, 360-degree monitor rotation for landscape or portrait viewing, and 17” depth adjustment? Sound pretty exciting?

Cosmetically, it’s got some pizzazz—most notably, a signature red adjustment knob. I do love a good knob. Arms come in white, grey, and black, but the real variety comes in the way of mounting options: two-piece table clamp, slat wall, wall and fixed table mounts, and grommet. And who can’t get excited by a good grommet?