Roll-Top Desk

[TromboneAl]

Since I don't use my office anymore, the computer use area has moved downstairs. A problem is that bills, printouts, discs, etc. accumulate around the computer, and things look messy. We often have to move this stuff off the dining room table to eat breakfast.

At the same time, we've always had a bench in our front hall, but we almost never actually sit on it, it's just used for "putting stuff."

I think I've solved both these problems by buying this roll-top desk from Craigslist ($350):

When things get too messy looking, I'll just closed the top.

 

[FIREd]

It looks like a nice, sturdy desk. A great deal for $350.

 

[freebird5825]

Beautiful piece!

Is it a bona fide antique or a reproduction?

 

[Keim]

Guessing repro. I say that because it has a place for power cords at the back. A look at drawer construction would give a more definitive answer-not that it matters. Good score, T-Al. Have thought about that option for myself.

 

[braumeister]

Appears nearly identical to mine, including the size. I paid $225 for mine in 1973, and a pencil note on the bottom of one of the drawers indicates it was made in 1915. Mine only has one interior drawer on each side, and the cubbyholes go all the way across above the three drawers, but otherwise they are extremely similar.

The tambour (sliding cover) gave out on mine a few years ago, so I had to replace its fabric backing. There are kits you can buy to do that, but boy, what a job that was.

 

[powerplay]

Very nice solution for your computer stuff and sounds like you got a good deal. I love roll-top desks!

 

[haha]

I think I've solved both these problems by buying this roll-top desk from Craigslist ($350):

As I remember, you have only a small car. How do you transport stuff like this?

Ha

 

[mountaintosea]

Nice looking desk. Always liked roll tops. I understand the problem with stuff especially paper stuff. But not willing to give up the hard copy route yet. Just spent part of last night burning papers I did not want to throw in the trash.

 

[W2R]

What a terrific desk! I love the fact that it has so many drawers for stuff.

As you point out you have the roll top in case the mess gets out of hand. I think you may find that you also generate less mess with the hutch area and so many nooks and cubbyholes to contain it. The desk that I bought in June (picture below) has a hutch with a few such places and it has made a world of difference for me.

I really love having the surface area on top of the hutch for stuff, and I notice you have a similar spot on your rolltop desk. I have my desktop monitor, router, modem, speakers, and a pencil holder there and it keeps them out of the way.

In my case, the desk is in my home office which obviously has a door that closes, so it doesn't have to stay neat. Surprisingly, it is neat as a pin and that makes working there so pleasant.

 

[harley]

Al, as the owner of a very large rolltop desk, I'm here to tell you that they collect so much stuff on top that you can't close the rolltop. It's sort of like a suitcase. Maybe if you get two people shoving stuff back under the third might be able to slam the top down.

 

[REWahoo]

Al, as the owner of a very large rolltop desk, I'm here to tell you that they collect so much stuff on top that you can't close the rolltop. It's sort of like a suitcase. Maybe if you get two people shoving stuff back under the third might be able to slam the top down.

Yep.

90% of my posts are from my desktop on my rolltop . I have to constantly battle the accumulation of mail, 'important papers' and assorted other stuff that builds up every few days. We have a cleaning lady who shows up every two weeks, and I make it a point to sort through and throw away enough to close the lid before she arrives.

 

[TromboneAl]

Yes it is a reproduction -- medium quality. The big wood pieces are actually fiberboard but with thick oak veneers.

We have a Tacoma and put it in that with the owner's help. Then, when we got home I partially disassembled it in the truck bed, and Lena and I were able to get it inside.

As I knew before I bought it, the laptop can't open all the way unless it protrudes off the front of the desk. That works OK, but if I find it annoying, I'll cut away the middle cubbies, which will solve the problem.

 

[FIREd]

My desk was a mess before I went paperless. I like to keep my desktop clutter-free now:

 

[REWahoo]

My desk was a mess before I went paperless. I like to keep my desktop clutter-free now:

I don't think anyone actually lives there...

 

[FIREd]

I don't think anyone actually lives there...

I used to have a notoriously messy office/desk (finding anything always required some excavation). But retirement seems to be bringing out the zen in me.

 

[W2R]

Nice desk, FD! Now if you just had a hutch.... Oh well. It still looks neat, even without one.

 

[MichaelB]

My desk was a mess before I went paperless. I like to keep my desktop clutter-free now:

A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind...

 

[FIREd]

A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind...

 

[TromboneAl]

For me, the reasons for something being left out where it doesn't belong:

1. I'm too lazy to put it away.

2. There isn't a place designated for it.

3. I'm worried that if I put it away I'll forget about it (e.g. Document that needs to be filled out).

 

[MichaelB]

I used to have a notoriously messy office/desk (finding anything always required some excavation). But retirement seems to be bringing out the zen in me.

In addition to bringing out the zen, it also answers the question "What do I do all day?"

 

[Ronstar]

Al - Great desk for $350. The oak lumber to build one would now cost more than that.

 

[Bestwifeever]

One thing that really helped keep our home office area clear was moving DH into his own studio . And also I use magazine filing (upright cardboard open boxes, at Ikea for supercheap) on top of a bookcase instead of file drawers, so it turns those piles upright and is just as easy to stick a piece of paper into the "things to deal with" or "paid receipts" or "family birthday cards I want to keep forever" cardboard thingie as it is to put it on a pile (and way easier than putting it into a file drawer--too much like w*rk routines where everything had to be filed carefully). I weed out the older things in those magazine files when they are too full to put new things into, and can find anything at a moment's notice.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Or "family birthday cards I want to keep forever" cardboard thingie .

One small victory in my war against these, and I have kept dang near every card I've ever been given, is a couple of old (vintage, if you want to get fancy) suitcases that I shove them in every now and again, that fit under a guest bed. Out of the way, but where I can look at them when I feel like it.

You can fit a heck of a lot of cards in a suitcase!

 

[Bestwifeever]

One small victory in my war against these, and I have kept dang near every card I've ever been given, is a couple of old (vintage, if you want to get fancy) suitcases that I shove them in every now and again, that fit under a guest bed. Out of the way, but where I can look at them when I feel like it.

You can fit a heck of a lot of cards in a suitcase!

That's a great idea--I have the 1968 version of suitcases my parents gave me when I left home (paid for with Green Stamps) that I just cannot get rid of for sentimental reasons, same as the birthday/anniversary cards I have been keeping for 3-plus decades. I can combine my two teeny hoarding obsessions!

 

[Nords]

For me, the reasons for something being left out where it doesn't belong:
1. I'm too lazy to put it away.
2. There isn't a place designated for it.
3. I'm worried that if I put it away I'll forget about it (e.g. Document that needs to be filled out).

I have an "IN" box on my desk specifically for items meeting those criteria. Just about everything goes in there (or in the trash) and I clean the box out every 3-4 months.

Yeah, it's disorganized. But I know exactly where the mess is, the mess doesn't spread out across the rest of the desk, I know that what I'm looking for is almost certainly in there, and when it's full then I know it's time to clean it.