Ok, I'm starting to look for a new desk and this seems like a good place to ask some questions. I'm currently using a desk my grandmother gave my father when he graduated from college. It's a good quality desk, 100% real wood (not some cheap laminated stuff), but a little dated. I also now work from home 95% of the time and I just need more desk space. Plus I'm 34 and it's about time I spent some money on office furniture of my own.
Ikea stuff seems to be pretty popular in this thread, and I do have the large Expedit bookcase. So let me start with some Ikea questions.
1: Every time I walk into Ikea I get overwhelmed by the feeling that everything there is super cheap garbage that only some eurotrash art student in Germany named Jörg would like. I can see from everyone's pictures that maybe I need to be a little more open minded on the style, but I can't shake the feeling that their stuff is just trash that won't survive my next move (not that I plan to move soon). Is this an accurate impression?
2: That Expedit bookcase was a PITA to put together. If you didn't get each and every piece lined up exactly right the thing would wobble. I dread ever having to take it apart. Is this the case for all of their furniture, or is the Expedit just special that way?
3: I've got my eye on the Galant desk combination (L-shaped with an extended side), and I like the look of the A-legs. In these threads it seems most people who have this desk went with the T-legs. Any reason why? If I get the A-legs, will the desk still sit flush against the wall?
4: I'm a little short on storage in my office as well. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can use to help with this that would go well with the Galant? Obviously Ikea has matching stuff, anyone have these or something else they like? I'm thinking more along the lines of cabinets and drawers, not something like a bookcase where everything is visible. Nobody wants to look at a bunch of spare cables, keyboards, and papers.
I have one or two general questions as well.
1: These days it's obviously harder to find real wood furniture than it was when my grandmother bought the desk I'm using now. At least, not without spending an arm and a leg. Has anyone wished they spent more for a desk that was all real wood instead of the pressed and laminated stuff you see most of the time these days?
2: I see quite a few people have the glass-top desks as well. How do these stand up over the years? How easily do they scratch compared to a wood desk? How often do you have to clean it to keep it looking decent? I don't want to have to windex my desk every other day.
I'll post a pic of my current setup once I clean up a bit.
Its funny looking at my first desk, and thinking how crappy it looks! Got Apple TV, a sound bar, and moved a few items around.
