Oak Desk Buyers Guide

Whether for occasional use within the home or home office, or for more intensive use such as in the professional work environment - a decent desk is a must (with a solid oak desk being our recommendation). The reasons are a mixture of both the practical and aesthetical.

From a visual point of view, it is nice to be able to take pride in your work space, which is definitely something that an oak desk gives you. An appealing work space will lead to an increase in productivity, as people are more prepared to spend time somewhere that is visually appealing or stimulating.

In addition to providing a more appealing work space, a stable, sturdy desk that is of the correct height for the user, will ensure that they remain comfortable for significantly longer periods of time. Of course the overall height of the unit itself is a less important consideration as most office chairs provide height adjustment features as standard, thus enabling the user to position themselves at the correct and comfortable height (which also ensures good posture).

Discomfort during periods of work will result in loss of concentration and generally fidgeting around. The hours spent at the desk are not necessarily productive if the user is unable to concentrate without physical distraction. So a reliable desk when combined with a comfortable chair will enable you to concentrate at the task at hand free from distractions.

With an oak desk in particular you also have great flexibility in choice with regards to what other pieces of furniture you can combine with it. Oak furniture is so popular now that most desks are members of larger furniture collections, which means if you wanted some extra storage shelving, cabinets, tables etc. to supplement the room you will have plenty of options.

The versatility of oak also means that it can be combined equally well with an assortment of other materials such as leather and glass. When it comes to equipping a workspace, most people would tend to opt for a leather office chair, which is the perfect accompaniment to an oak desk regardless of colour.

Typical Features and Popular Models

There are typically 2 main types: a standard oak computer or office desk, and the corner desk. Within these main categories are a number of sub-categories that includes:

• Single pedestal (like this Bevel Desk)
• Double pedestal desks
• Small desks

The pedestal versions make use of the space below the main surface top to include drawers, a cupboard, or a combination of the both. So the difference between the single and double models will be whether or not there is either one of these storage units included on one side, or 2 with one either side of the seating space.

Some of the small oak models will not feature pedestal sections, but may still offer drawers located just below the upper section. This Nero small oak desk for example.

While some desks are designed for more of a "general use", the majority of oak desks listed throughout this website offer great functionality for housing and integrating a modern PC.

Oak Computer Desks

A specially designed oak computer desk will likely include several useful features which make integrating your computer within the desk easy.

You can expect to find either a dedicated cupboard space or an open shelf, which is intended to hold a modern PC tower unit - including the taller models. To keep things as tidy as possible, a special hole will enable the PC cabling to be fed out of the back of the desk in the direction of the wall, to prevent untidy wires being visible or hanging about the seating area and becoming accidentally snagged. A great example of this can be easily seen in the Salisbury Light Oak Desk - which also demonstrates a light oak desk style.

Something not found in every computer desk (but nevertheless very handy where implemented) is a designated keyboard shelf. Located centrally and just below the main desktop surface, this shelf is typically fitted on to a sliding mechanism that enables you to easily extend or hide away the keyboard. Depending on the model chosen, a concealing panel may also be integrated which completely hides the keyboard shelf contents when closed. This Vancouver Desk shows the retractable keyboard table but without the front cover mentioned.

When selecting from the selection of oak computer desks for home use, if you operate a multi-monitor setup then it is particularly important to ensure that your monitors will fit comfortably on the desk surface in addition to any other computer accessories you may need to place here.

Oak Office and Corner Desks

In addition to the desks targeted specifically at computer users, there are a selection of desks that are more geared towards general office use.

When multiple people are working in the same room, corner desks are commonly used to maximise the potential of the room perimeters. Of the corner desks listed here, you can typically find other desks in the same style but of a different form, suitable for combining with a corner desk to provide more efficiently allocated work spaces.

With oak desks for the home office, storage is often one of the primary requirements, so desks which provide ample drawer space or even an integrated filing cabinet are a great asset to have in the office area. The Tokyo Large Solid Oak Desk for example provides a range of storage options through the use of multiple drawers and cupboards.

As previously mentioned here, one of the big advantages of a solid oak office desk in particular is the length of reliable service you can expect to get out of it. These desks are reassuringly solid, and the type of furniture that you can expect to use on a daily basis for years to come. Cheaper, lesser quality models found elsewhere on the Internet may seem like a good deal at first, but with the reduction in both duration of lifespan and quality of performance they tend to prove themselves a false economy that are better avoided.