4 legs and a flat top, that's all I want.

Casually Hardcore

I'm trying to find a computer desk that's as follows.

Four legs

Flat

Large


That's all I want. I don't want a million freaking shelves that's only useful for collecting clutter and taking up real estate. I dont want a CD holder for the CD's I don't have. I just want a large, flat, and stable, desk.

Please don't say 'use a folding table' because I want to have some kind of class.

MushroomStick

Find a table top of the desired size and then buy some legs with the desired height (usually around 27-28 inches) and level of class.

Casually Hardcore

Dude, I'm a mechanic.

Wood and me goes together like salt and slugs.

MushroomStick

Go to a furniture store. They tend to have table tops in various styles/sizes already pre-drilled for the various table legs that they sell in various styles/sizes. Just make sure you get something that's actually made out of wood and not just a printed foil over cardboard (Ikea is famous for that.)

Skoal Cat

Ikea does sell real hard wood table tops. I prefer finding tables in used furniture stores, but I also have a shit ton of those around here.

Doc

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40111124

These things are great. I have owned two (moved countries and didn't want to haul it), plus I owned the previous version that Ikea used to sell. They've dipped in price, it looks like.

rts

Yeah it's stupid how hard it is to find a plain desk or something like that. I actually found a corner desk at Staples and used the pieces to make a plain normal non-corner desk which had no shelves or drawers or slide out crap.

lonelyahava

used furniture stores, goodwill stores, flea markets.

also, if there's any like restaurants or something going out of business nearby or estate sales.

but really, just go to walmart or something and just get a cheap tables. :P

MushroomStick

Skoal Cat wrote: »

Ikea does sell real hard wood table tops. I prefer finding tables in used furniture stores, but I also have a shit ton of those around here.

Yeah they do, but a lot of their furniture is literally a thin layer of laminate filled with strips of corrugated cardboard.

Doc

Don't go to an office supply store. They're overpriced and the construction is super-shitty, even by Ikea standards. That desk I linked is actually super-sturdy.

Kate of Lokys

When Pixels and I furnished our first place, we got four of these, and an assortment of legs. Yes, they're particleboard instead of solid mahogany hewn from the heartwood of a five hundred year old tree, but they're solid, durable, sturdy, and practical. They stood up to a cross-continental move, Pixels uses one as a workbench for doing soldering and console repair, our cat sharpens her claws on another without leaving a scratch. For $40, I think you'll be hard-pressed to do better.

MushroomStick

The desk Doc linked to is nice. I'd recommend springing one of the glass tops though as it does have that damned melamine foil stuff that wears away.

TychoCelchuuu

I was just at Ikea today and they had a ton of desks that were just a board and some sticks.

Aioua

I have the same desk as doc linked (though with different legs).
It's just a solid slab of wood with a metal frame underneath. 0 frills, all sturdy.
Couldn't break it if I tried.

Artereis

I just bought one of these desks from Staples the other day. It's fantastic and probably the most solid piece of DIY furniture I've purchased.

drhazard

MushroomStick wrote: »

Skoal Cat wrote: »

Ikea does sell real hard wood table tops. I prefer finding tables in used furniture stores, but I also have a shit ton of those around here.

Yeah they do, but a lot of their furniture is literally a thin layer of laminate filled with strips of corrugated cardboard.

Ikea has price bands. A lot of the cheaper stuff is exactly that, but if you put some more money into it, we're talking real wood/strong construction.

And the benefit of Ikea is that they have a few table styles that are totally mix-and-match, so you can actually just pick the table-top and legs separately, and they should work with a minimum of fuss.

Corvus

Go to Ikea, buy a table top in your choice of sizes and finishes and combine with your choice of legs. Thats what I did to achieve the type of desk you're lookign for.

Donovan Puppyfucker

Casually Hardcore wrote: »

Dude, I'm a mechanic.

Wood and me goes together like salt and slugs.

wut

If you're a mechanic, it should be very easy for you to screw some table legs into a tabletop. I could understand if you don't know how to use a radial arm saw and a lathe, but just screwing some things together should not cause a problem for you.

The_Glad_Hatter

alternatively, buy the Ikea desk legs and attach them to a plain cheap wooden door/ board.

Grizzled

1. Cheap-o Ikea top and legs. Sure, they're laminate on garbage, but I find them to be pretty sturdy unless you are going to do metalworking on them or something, in which case

2. A solid-core door and a pair of either sawhorses or file cabinets. Attach with fasteners of your choice.

Donovan Puppyfucker

This should last for a decade or so.

Or if you want to spend a bit more cash and get solid wood, one of these with two of these should prove to be just about unbreakable. It'd end up being a little big (the tabletop is 5ft 4" long...), but I can't find much on the US Ikea site. It seems you guys have a vastly different range to Australia.

Blake T

I have one of these.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50106773

Just with four basic legs.

It is hard to be critical of it. It does exactly what you expect. If I was to think of the absolute worst thing about it it would be that the surface is slightly rough.

But you can always sand it back.

Dangerbird

Not all Ikea stuff is flimsy crap.

I've had this desk for over 6 years and really like it. The table top is HEAVY and it was a pain to assembe by myself, but its a very strong desk. Lots of space too.

WildEEP

Something wrong with craiglist where you live?

This post made me look at the overnight postings, and I just found a sweet 300 dollar solid oak desk. Think I might actually get this one if I can find friends to move it with.

Can't go wrong with solid wood construction. Forget Ikea..that shit is more glue than wood.

MushroomStick

It wasn't my intent to imply that everything at Ikea was crap, I was just warning to avoid the stuff that's made out of a melamine foil wrapped over corrugated cardboard. The solid wood stuff is perfectly fine.

jefe414

I have a very similar Ikea desk as Doc. I've had it for... 6-7 years.

HeavySoul

The desk Doc posted is glue and plastic. Not wood. Don't recommend. The option that chrishallett83 and Blake T posted looks good.

Also, I've had a lot of luck with used furniture from office furniture supply stores. Not OfficeDepot or Staples stuff, it's usually overpriced crap. I'm talking about the higher end places. They have whole sections of their warehouses with used stuff that they took out when they sold some company new furniture. Usually very reasonably priced and quality.

Foolproof

I use a large coffee style table with the legs extended with 2x4s (classy) and the boards that dressed the underside knocked out for more legroom. It doesn't look the best but the top is very nice with mangrove inlays and it has room for food, drinks, an huge monitor, printer, tower, radio, and speakers.

Also I got to trim the legs until I got it to be the exact size I wanted.

mcp

I like this desk.

illig

Another vote for IKEA. They have lots of different table tops and legs that you can pick and choose from.

Personally I went with an IKEA butcher block counter mounted on a (non-IKEA) motorized height adjustable base. Best desk ever.

bowen

Go to home depot, get a slab of wood, or a solid core door with no panels, maybe buy some stain. If it has a hole, hey, free grommet hole. Grab some legs from ikea, and have a nice sturdy desk that will last you the rest of your life. Grab a gutter for cable management.

MegaMan001

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S69807217

I had this for a few years but had to leave it at my parents when I moved out of state, then across country.

This thing is a goddamn tank.

I did a lot of homework / research at the desk and it's just so big and lovely.

Do it.

SkyCaptain

You could also look up some local cabinet makers and see if they could do a custom desk for ya.

Figgy

SkyCaptain wrote: »

You could also look up some local cabinet makers and see if they could do a custom desk for ya.

I love how intense this thread is getting.

I [strike]second[/strike] fifteenth the suggestion to go to Ikea. It doesn't sound like you want to spend a fortune and find a unique, masterfully crafted desk made from the finest rain forest lumber. It sounds like you just want a simple, practical desk.

That's 75% of what Ikea carries. Grab a table top and some legs. The legs will even come with the hardware. Screw em on. Believe it or not, 99% of the furniture you buy will have to be assembled in some way, so you might as well embrace it.

SkyCaptain

Eh, if you're gonna buy a computer desk... may as well get one made from some real wood.

Donovan Puppyfucker

My girlfriend got an ex-government desk from a second-hand office furniture wholesaler.

Thing weighs at least 200 pounds. It's huge, solid wood, and built so tough I'm pretty sure it could survive being hit by a car.

$50.

It was entirely a lucky find though. Also it's a little bit uggo, but I don't care.

Casually Hardcore

I can't believe I'm getting something from Ikea.

Though, Ikea doesn't open shop in CO till like sometime next month or something.


Oh well...


So, what color should I get?


holy shit, this Ikea store is going to have a freaking restaurant in it? All I want is a desk....

MushroomStick

You have no idea about Ikea. One year my mom bought a candy bar or something and they gave her a free Christmas tree.

TychoCelchuuu

Ikea is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lives.

Corvus

Alternative idea. Get a sheet of plywood or an old interior door. Lay across two saw-horses.

Instant desk.

MushroomStick

Corvus wrote: »

Alternative idea. Get a sheet of plywood or an old interior door. Lay across two saw-horses.

Instant desk.

Interior doors are usually hollow or paneled, both bad for a desk. Any flat, solid core door should work magically.