I'm really needing to get a new desk. The one I'm currently using was never meant as a permanent one and I've used it for about three years. For the place that I spend most of my time everyday doing more than simply browsing, but everything I do throughout the day, it's way too cramped. It's only 29" wide and about 18" deep. No room for a mousepad, even.

There's a problem, though: It seems that every local store's site I visit, such as Staples and Target, have desks that are all cluttered and cramped or just plain look uncomfortable. I'm kind of looking for something with a simple and uncluttered design, but roomy. An L-Shaped desk would be nice if I could find one that was actually nice. Any help is appreciated.

Craigslist is the place for quality desks. Anything you find in a retail store for a reasonable price is going to be crappy particle wood, and will probably fall apart in a year.

Edit.

Seriously, look what's a little ways from me. http://mobile.craigslist.org/fuo/2935908190.html. They'll probably take $100 too. I might actually go pick this up, thanks for making me check for a new one.

Try an actual furniture store. I paid 400 bucks for my current desk, it's made out of some good solid quality wood, is an l-Shape, and is freaking enormous, with enough room for everything I could want to stick on it, and more.

Have a office max? That is where I got my desk from its solid oak with a marble top and a top shelves and a stand alone cabinet. Got it at a reasonable price around $250 its similar to http://www.officemax.com/catalog/images/209x186/21601526i_01.jpg but the top right has a glass door and the bottom is open.

You could always get one custom built to your specifications. A friend of mine had that done and it turned out rather well.

That corner desk is nice looking, but it would never work for me. Too narrow a space. Can't lay much out (like lots of photos...)

Anyway, to the OP, how much you looking to spend? Craigslist or yard sales (if ppl have any where you live) are decent tries. In a store, non-particle wood isn't cheap. I personally don't care if it's particle wood/laminate, as long as it's functional and what I need. Mine's 6 feet long and 3 feet deep office type desk (more like a big table) and it's still very sturdy/heavy.

But if you want real wood, yeah try furniture stores.

Hm, prices definitely get pretty steep. I just can't find anything that suits my tastes except for "Post your set-up" threads of others. Something like http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3319/3437659759_ec79f1a8bd.jpg?v=0 or http://nerdbusiness.com/articles/nerd-office-setups/img/p3260003gb5.jpg would be perfect. I don't need a lot of features and cabinets. I guess I'm really just looking for a fancy table. Haha. Any idea where I'd find something like in the links?

and most definitely http://i25.tinypic.com/alkx3d.jpg.

Goodwill or some used furniture place

Check to see if there are any used office resale places. The places that things go when offices close/move shop. Most would be more "office" like than what you're probably searching for, but you can find some cool stuff at places like that sometimes. Goodwill's not a bad idea either...you just have to keep checking places like that every couple weeks or so.

Edit: or if you're at all handy, you can get the desktop wood/keyboard drawer and build/stain those yourself, then find parts to make up the bottom. Nice file cabinets, for instance.

yeah good desks are hard to come by. there's always Ikea, Craigslist etc.

or you could get a hand-me-down desk

my old desk was decent, but it was falling apart and I didn't have the money to buy a new one. That's when I remembered my dad's old desk from the 1970s that he never uses one day I moved that into my room.

it's great, but because it was built in the late '70s its not exactly optomized for a computer, thankfully I work from a laptop that doesn't need a bunch of wires going through the back so that's good.

garage sales are a great place for desks as well, lots of furniture actually. I found a great night-stand at a garage sale once.

Why not make your own? If you own your house you could build a custom desk, just need a big bit of wood and some supports. To store things you could get shelves or cupboards.

Because building your own...one that will stand the weight, and abuse of wear and tear, as well as with the test of time, isn't all that easy to do. That's what I used to do for a living and it's not as easy to do as it sounds. It takes time and practice to learn how to do something like that. What you are suggesting just isn't practical for most people.

A simple desk isn't that hard to build. A freestanding desk maybe, but I'm thinking of something built into an alcove of a room, with supports either side attached to the wall to hold a thick sheet of wood going across. It's a bit simple but for space it is okay and should hold a computer monitor if the tower is underneath.