Is a "London Brace" just a metal strap with a 90 degree bend?

It looks like that diagonal brace is the only thing providong any lateral stability to the vertical end boards acting as legs and the flat desk top supported above. the closer you get to a horizontal beam, the less lateral bracing you provide. I suspect the desk feels much less table now. You may want to put that back up where it was.

As long as the brace screws hold connect your hammock to the braces. The hammock will pull them inward so there's a likelihood you may just pull out the brace screws.

A better solution would be to drill hole in the top of the end legs and run the cords from the hammock through the hole and anchor it with a short piece of rod, wood, or pipe that will stop the cord from pulling back out of the hole.

Good luck.

Sorry - I meant "London BRACKETS" (I said braces by mistake).

Here's an example of my London Brackets:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/images/thumb/4/4e/London_bracket_0023-5.jpg/300px-London_bracket_0023-5.jpg

Please see my YELLOW ARROW in the pic linked to my O.P.

So my question is:

Is it OK to somehow try to connect the hammock to those brackets? What might be the best way to tackle that?

As for drilling holes, it's not feasible, because the area where I'd need to drill doesn't lend itself to it, due to "classy-look indentations" built into the exterior part, and so I'd need to drill too close to where the black metal brackets are. I'm too nervous for that, as i'm no expert. I'm just a weak shrimp with arthritis and back issues.

But either way (whether drilled holes, or the attaching to the London brackets) I'm still not sure of the best way to attach the hammock.

Any ideas?

Get a friend or neighbor with woodworking skills to help. There is probably a simple solution for someone with a little bit of handyman experience. I don't mean to be unhelpful, but I think this is beyond your skill level, and you could unintentionally mess it up. It's just too hard to give authoritatve advice on this without seeing it in person.

I have a suggestion but it doesn't apply to the bracket and brace problem.

After reading you have arthritis and back issues, have you considered putting a footstool under the desk and then adjust the height with cushions? My husband has to have his feet elevated when sitting for long periods at his desk and finds a footstool is the perfect solution. I don't know what type work you're doing at your desk but a slide out tray like this may help if you need more work space for a computer.

IMO, it seems it would be difficult for one to get their feet in and out of a sling that's freely swinging.

Wow, I just now realized that y'all may not be aware of a key fact in this whole business.

Namely, that when London brackets are attached, it's NOT a perfect 90-degree perpendicular. Rather, because the bracket is curved (versus angular) at the perpendicular juncture, it forms a natural opening - once it's screwed in.

Here's a quick example off the internet:

In the below pic, see the area behind the 90-degree juncture?

http://vanillafringe.com/images/view/728/904.jpg this is what I meant. I'm considering looping cable ties thru the aperature. If I could somehow connect the hammock to those cable ties, would the ties and the brackets hold up? Probably even more than one cable tie can fit through the aperature.

As for screw eye:

sdello, I guess you meant "eye bolts"? I don't believe I have any in the house, and its hard for me to drill holes, but thanks for the idea which I'll keep in mind in case the above idea isn't workable.

P.S. to annztoo, I indeed had already tried a pillow on top of a stepstool, but it didn't work for me.. In addition to that, I wish I had the time and spare strength to take a pic. of the weird stepstool I had fashioned which looks like an excerpt from the Cat In The Hat. Basically, its a mini-ottoman stuffed inside a round plastic basin. See, I had invested in Jaxx Shredded Foam in order to sew myself a mini-ottoman. It took many hours and mess (outdoors) until I finally got the foam stuffed in and the Ottoman zipped up. After all that work, it kept listing when I put my legs on it, because it had been too hard for me to overstuff the ottoman, due to the mess caused by the wispy shreds of foam. So the solution I devised, was to stuff it into a wide round basin. But this too is proving to be not so comfortable.

And you're right - the hammock may indeed wind up being uncomfortable as well. What can i say...[sigh]