My old desk has seen it’s wear and tear. But I kept it because it fit the room where I have my home office set up and I could set it up with proper cat protection. If you notice, the finish was peeling off and the keyboard holder was not holding the keyboard. In fact, I had the laptop on the keyboard holder.
Unlike dogs, cats are going to get in your business when you work. There is the migration across the keyboard and the migration behind the keyboard, slightly pushing the monitor backwards. I’ve become an expert at undoing the strange settings the kitty paws can find. I’m sure they are doing it just to keep me sharp.
They place themselves between you and the monitor. Sometimes they appear to be reading the monitor, then turn around and look at you as if they are telepathically trying to communicate with you. It’s as if they are saying, “Really Mom? Nested If statements again? When are you going to learn how to use the Switch statement?”
One cat or two or more, you need to protect your laptops from their inquisition. They love the warmth and will decide the laptop is their new bed. Keyboards and mice are not safe from our feline fur babies. My requirements for a desk include plenty of space for my monitors, keyboards and the cat migration, hidey holes for my laptops and ease of cleaning up.
My old desk provided most of the above with the except of the clean-ability. I wanted something a bit longer in the wings because I would love to add a fourth monitor. The newer desk designs provide the ease of cleaning up under the desk, but they don’t provide additional desk space nor do I get the keyboard tray to hide at least one laptop. My ideal desk would have been two 5 ft wings with a 2 ft corner and both wings with a keyboard tray to hold the laptops.
But I could not find that, so I opted for the Bestier 95.2″ L Shaped Desk with Storage Shelves. The storage shelves gave me a place to hide the laptop while providing sufficient ventilation and came in a pretty rustic brown finish. Considering the weight I put on a desk, I needed something sturdy. In one of the reviews, someone said they put 4 large monitors on the desk with no problem.
My new desk arrived Thursday. Saturday, it was time for the big switch. The first task was to remove the old desk. Easier said than done. That thing was heavy! I didn’t put it together. When it was delivered, I paid for assembly. But the movers from the old house to the new house lost some pieces and it was never really whole again. Still, the disassembly was HARD! It took over 2 hours to get it apart and on the street.
Thank God! Monday is bulk trash day. Normally when I put something like this out on the street, it gets picked up by someone faster than bulk trash. Apparently, not a broken down desk, because it is still sitting there this morning. Poor old desk! It served me well. But I’ll admit, I’m going to enjoy keeping the dirt off the floor under the desk. It was hard to get in the corner and I had a nightmare of cords to clean around.
The best thing about removing the desk was getting to clean up 5 years of accumulated dirt! I also noticed my chair was putting scratch marks on my wood floors. A little dark Old English fixed the scratch marks and a new area rug is coming in to protect the floors.
After a good cleaning, unpacking the parts and verifying I had everything, it was time to take a break and read the directions. Prior to diving in, I thought — wow, wouldn’t it be bad if the old desk was gone, but the new one didn’t have all it’s parts? Possibly, the first task should have been to verify the parts.
I’ve never had a build-it-yourself where I didn’t have to take the pieces apart and put them back together. I assumed it was my proclivity to simply dig right in and not prep. Today was going to be different. Armed with my Daily Harvest Mango and Papaya Smoothie, I settled in to read the instructions.
Read is an understatement. This was more like deciphering pictures. But I got the jist. Part number to Part number. Metal rods had holes and the arrows shows the direction of the hole. It didn’t look THAT difficult. The directions said 1 to 2 people about 1 1/2 hours. The job started at 11 AM.
8 hours later, the desk is in place. Same spot, same size, about 1 inch lower. But as you can see, I have a way to tie the cords up under the desk to get them off the floor. Regardless of which side I put the shelf on, there would always be one in the corner. This will make cleaning under the shelf a bit difficult, but easier than the old desk.
Why 8 hours? Well — yes, I did have to take it apart and put it back together — about 3 times! Some of those hole positions were tricky. And my hand/wrist got very sore from the screw driver. I took breaks. Of course Hoshi came in to check out the comotion. Plus, I think she wanted to make sure I didn’t move her litter box.
All-in-all, while I didn’t get my full list of wants, I’m happy with the Bestier desk. I like the rustic brown color. I like that it is about an inch lower than the old desk and about 3 inches deeper. Bestier has a file cabinet that I may trade out for the old one to keep the furniture consistent. While it’s not the prettiest, I can zip tie the cords up off the floor. However, they guy that said he had 4 big monitors on his desk does may not have the same concept of big monitor that I have!
Writing this post on Sunday, the day after — sore back, sore legs, sore wrist — yep, I did some work yesterday. But just look at that comparison! With just a few additional touches, this home office will be totally awesome and mega comfy for Hoshi and me to work in. I think Hoshi agrees.
