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Brainstorming - Custom built desks? Anyone interested?

JamesGow

How much would you pay for a really nice desk/workstation?  

12 members have voted

  1. 1. How much would you pay for a really nice desk/workstation?

    • less than £1000 or $1500 USD
      9
    • £1000 - £2500 / $1500 - $3500
      2
    • more than £2500 / $3500
      1


Hi,

My name is Jamie and I'm here looking to do a little market research. At present I'm mostly just brainstorming so I'll keep this short. I work professionally as a cabinet maker based in the UK; I make quality fitted and freestanding furniture. This includes fully fitted bespoke furniture through houses including wardrobes, kitches bla bla etc. You get the picture... I can basically make anything in wood (but not limited to) to the best standards and have access to a fully fitted workhop with professional tooling and machinery. I consider myelf "tech savvy" and before furniture making I used to - to put it bluntly - play a lot of games and mess around with computers a lot which has led me to this idea.

Anyway, I can make custom desks/workstations just like any other piece of furniture and out of any materials - hardwood, glass, metals & acrylics. Should I go ahead and give it a shot?

  • How much would you be prepared to pay for the desk of your dreams?
  • What features would you like?
  • What would it look like?
  • Do you know of any other people/companies that make this sort of furniture?

In addition, it would be interesting to see some designs that are already out there and what ideas any of you have. Limitations that I would have at this time, if I were to persue this venture is that I'd only be able to deliver to UK mainland and personally assemble a piece of furniture so substantial (sorry, I don't make IKEA flatpacks).

Just a thought. I thought this would be a good place to ask.

 

 

 

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if I had $1500 USD I would not buy a desk with it. Not trying to offend your work or anything but I have this like $60 ikea one that is awesome and is really big. I just feel as if I were to have $1500 laying around I would spend it on something more useful. 

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I haven't look around, but my ideal desk would be very simple and practical, so probably quite cheap.  I see potential for this idea though - if I was like a CEO or something with one of those stereotypical super fancy wooden desks, it would be cool to get a custom one designed with a PC in mind :)

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having spent a few grand on many many desks I ended up learning that it's better to pay what you need to to get the perfect desk rather then trying to save money settling for desks that are just ok. Maybe it's OCD but I am not happy unless things are how I want them functionally and aesthetically. If I am going to sit somewhere daily and spend hours at a desk I sure as hell would want it to be exactly how I want it to be. 

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I wouldn't be interested in a custom built desk.

I like my desks really simple and I don't like desk-pc-cases.
My perfect desk needs to have a large surface area, as few legs as possible and needs to be stable.

 

 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, FatPenguin said:

if I had $1500 USD I would not buy a desk with it. Not trying to offend your work or anything but I have this like $60 ikea one that is awesome and is really big. I just feel as if I were to have $1500 laying around I would spend it on something more useful. 

I'm not offended at all. It would be a very niche market without a doubt. Hand-made furniture or something that isn't mass produced at top quality comes with a price - it's just a matter of perspecitive.

11 minutes ago, LancerBG said:

having spent a few grand on many many desks I ended up learning that it's better to pay what you need to to get the perfect desk rather then trying to save money settling for desks that are just ok. Maybe it's OCD but I am not happy unless things are how I want them functionally and aesthetically. If I am going to sit somewhere daily and spend hours at a desk I sure as hell would want it to be exactly how I want it to be. 

Thanks for the positive response. Could I ask you what some of the problems you've had in the past have been, specifically?

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21 minutes ago, Senzelian said:

I wouldn't be interested in a custom built desk.

I like my desks really simple and I don't like desk-pc-cases.
My perfect desk needs to have a large surface area, as few legs as possible and needs to be stable.

Still useful information. Simpler designs are usually cheaper to make, easier to transport and easier to assemble.

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2 hours ago, JamesGow said:

 

I'm not offended at all. It would be a very niche market without a doubt. Hand-made furniture or something that isn't mass produced at top quality comes with a price - it's just a matter of perspecitive.

Thanks for the positive response. Could I ask you what some of the problems you've had in the past have been, specifically?

aesthetics, I like a sleek utilitarian looking desk. color offerings were limited. I preferred something either adjustable or a specific height which in my case is about an inch and a half higher then standard or typical desks.  Needed to be able to hold all my PC related accessories with out crowding or to much extra space so sizing was an issue which made the choices even more limited. 

Again, all this goes down to settling for many desks I ended up selling off which in the long run costs so much more money. Better to spend more to get more in this case. 

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I've seen several high end desks marketed to gamers over the years, but they all disappear as quickly as they pop up, it doesn't seem like the market is there. I'm really generalizing here, but for the most part if "gamers" had an extra $1500 they aren't going to be spending it on a desk, its going into a better computer. I'm completely opposite of that, and would rather spend more on my desk and chair than my computer, but I'm not normal... :P

Locally we have a few Amish furniture companies that make extremely nice desks, ranging from $2k to $10k and they sell a lot of them... but it is lawyers and executives buying them.

While I would love to see it happen, I just don't think many would sell. :(

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I agree on the grounds of simplicity.  This isn't the 90s and desks aren't holding up CRTs, we don't have stacks of CDs and cassette tapes that need storage, and the computer can be almost an size besides a 25 gallon tank of steel.

My ideal desk would be simple.  It would be sturdy. (I don't like cheap desks that shake back and forth and side to side when typing on them.)  I know this could mean different types of wood.  Mahogany would be overkill.  I also like the idea of a little storage and some cable management options.  Either built in or some sort of assembly that would allow for cable management modular design.  

If I owned a house that my wife and I would live in for the next 30+ years, I might be able to convince her to invest into my office $500(US).  I like the idea of being comfortable and knowing that the desk would last a long time; no matter what I threw at it.

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I guess sturdiness, large surface areas, simplicity and little features such as cable management seems to be the consensus.

 

Thoughts on a built in USB port extension?

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I also work on my wife's laptop and family laptops from time to time.  USB ports, AC ports, and maybe some ethernet ports wouldn't go amiss.  Not an over abundance, but something accessible on top.

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