Aura Z-Line Glass and Metal Desk
Never underestimate the importance of a workspace. I used to use my laptop on the kitchen table. It was very functional and I had a good time. But last weekend I had to move my laptop and papers upstairs. I had a desk in storage but it was in pieces and it was stuffed away somewhere in some box. So I decided to purchase a new desk. I didn’t feel like driving all the way to IKEA so I went to the Staples in Costa Mesa on 17th street. I immediately saw the Z-Line Aura Silver Metal and Glass Computer Desk and was impressed by its simplicity, functionality, personality and elegance. It took a few minutes for the staff to get the desk for me from the back, but I wasn’t in a hurry and I didn’t mind waiting. I was charged $79.99 for the desk but if you click on the picture you may be able to get it for less money. I think there is a sale on it right now for 40 dollars off. (today’s date: Aug. 25th, 2010) When I brought the desk home it came in a big box but it wasn’t very heavy. The heaviest part was the glass. The rest of it is made of light metal pieces and a piece of wood.
Setting up the desk was very easy, and it only took me about 30 minutes to set the whole thing up from start to finish. The only tool that I needed that wasn’t included in the box was a standard Phillips head screwdriver. Most of the work was done with a hex key that was included. The body of the desk is a nice silver finish metal. And the glass is very nice and the perfect thickness. My favorite part of the whole desk is how the glass connects to the body. There are these thick cylindrical pieces that connect the two parts. And since the top of the desk is made of glass you can see the metal cylinders and they look stylish and humble and very cool. The wood keyboard try is great. But since I am using the desk for my laptop I don’t use the keyboard tray for a keyboard. Instead I’m using the wooden keyboard tray to store my papers, my art journal, and my Starbucks Survey receipts.
My laptop isn’t very big, but it isn’t a mini-laptop either. And it fits comfortably on the glass desk. I have a USB mouse and a normal sized mouse pad with a gel wrist-rest. They fit on the desk nicely. I also use a Blue Snowball USB microphone that fits snugly on the left side of the desk. The rest of the space I use to hold my beverages and my collection/stack of San Pellegrino bottle-caps.
This Z-Line Silver Metal and Glass desk looks great in my room and since I don’t have very much space it works perfectly. I feel better about my room now that the desk is here. It is more livable and it is a little bit easier waking up in the morning. Being greeted by a piece of furniture that I am proud of every morning has cumulative effects on my mood that I can definitely notice.
The cool thing about my desk is that I actually did go to my storage locker after purchasing the desk, and I was able to pull out my nice faux-leather desk chair. The chair was a bit dusty so when I brought it home I cleaned it with Windex and afterwords it was like new! It fit perfectly under the desk, although I had to lower it a bit using the pneumatic control mechanism near the base of the chair.
The Z-Line Silver Metal desk is not very big, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for someone that needed a ton of space. This is more of a compact solution for efficiency, price, and style. For me the big selling point was the thickness and quality of the glass. It is almost a third of an inch thick and it tempered. If you buy it make sure not to put heavy things on the glass. Like all glass products it can break under a heavy load. So be sure to check the information before setting up your workstation.
Another cool thing about the desk is that it is sturdy. I don’t have any real wiggle on the desk when I type so that’s a good thing. One thing to remember about the desk is that it isn’t one of those desks that connect to another of the same kind. So this is more of a one-shot desk. I am very happy with it.
-Tyler
