Comments on: Looking for a contemporary workspace.

Question: Looking for a contemporary workspace.

Justinian — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:07:14 -0800

I'm looking for a cool but usable computer desk for my new place.

I'm moving to a new place and am tired of the disaster that has passed for a computer desk for the last few years. I need something with a contemporary-ish design and well made; I'm particularly concerned with getting rid of the insightly fire hazard of all my cables ending up in a big mashed-up pile on the floor behind the desk. Space or shelves for a printer, etc, also would be great. If there are matching bookshelves that would be a plus but not necessary.

I've been looking online but have yet to find anything that really grabbed me. Any ideas?

By: camcgee

camcgee — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:32:07 -0800

I am a very big fan of the IKEA Jerker desks; there are a couple of different varieties, but the ones with the shelves would suit you better. They are extensible, have adjustable shelves, and the main desk area provides a very large workspace. They're cheap, too -- I think I paid about $120 each for the two I have. (Here are some pictures of people's Jerker setups on Flickr.)

I just looked at IKEA's web site, though, so unless you live near a store or someplace people might offer one on Cragislist, they might not be available.

By: feloniousmonk

feloniousmonk — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:39:27 -0800

Despite my knee-jerk reaction to hate everything they make, the Bedford desks at Pottery Barn are really nice. I am in the process of deciding what configuration I want, but they have pretty much anything you could need. I have checked them out in the showroom and they are sturdy and well made.

See them here.

By: dws

dws — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:44:46 -0800

Several people make cable trays that you can screw in under (or behind) a desk. Ikea sells one that works with their desks. Or you can go the DIY route: http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/02/declutter_your.html

By: The Deej

The Deej — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:49:39 -0800

Do you have a price range?

By: Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:53:45 -0800

Anthro

By: Justinian

Justinian — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 17:24:29 -0800

Ah, I knew I was leaving something out Deej. I spend a lot of time at the computer desk so I'm quite willing to pay for quality. Don't worry about price, within reason. That said, I won't pay just to get some sort of cachet from an expensive desk. I'll buy a $120 Ikea desk if it's better than a $1200 designer desk.

Thanks for the ideas so far, I am checking them out.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 17:33:26 -0800

Seconding the Jerker Ikea desks - The best part is being able to position the shelving and main desk platform to suit your personal taste.

By: jeri

jeri — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:27:18 -0800

Here are some more you might want to check out:

Biomorph

Zip Contemporary Italian Glass Desk

D2 Pocket desk

Nail Zimmerman's Partner 100 Series

Lian Li aluminum desk, available here, among other places

By: jeri

jeri — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:35:38 -0800

Well, that should have been Neil Zimmerman.

By: SansPoint

SansPoint — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:46:22 -0800

IKEA doesn't seem to sell the Jerker anymore. If you're looking for a nice desk that'll fit in a small space, though, I like the Frederick desk, and I'm sitting at one right now.

By: Zed_Lopez

Zed_Lopez — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:55:08 -0800

Probably not cool, but I've liked my Ikea Mikael, with an added keyboard platform. The pictures of it empty don't do much to convey its size or how much useful shelf space it has. It doesn't offer anything in the way of built-in cable runs, though (but it'd be easy to improvise your own.)

By: The Deej

The Deej — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:49:42 -0800

I like this glass one.

And this wood and glass one.

By: happyturtle

happyturtle — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:28:27 -0800

Lifehacker did a series recently on workstations, where readers sent in their photos. You might browse through there and get some ideas.

By: Justinian

Justinian — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:15:24 -0800

Thanks for all the suggestions; I can't mark a best answer because I don't know which I'm going to go with yet but there are quite a few good ideas here.

By: jeri

jeri — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 09:05:44 -0800

This is a bit late, but I just found another one: the Autopilot Workstation made from certified sustainable wood. It's on back order, though.