Jade sent us an e-mail: Hello, I am looking for a glass desk for my 8x13 office. I LOVE this one from Pottery Barn but the price tag is a little much for me. Can anyone suggest something similar? I am even open to buying the legs separately (I have a friend in the glass business.) Thanks!
AT Readers, any ideas of a less expensive glass desk similar to the $700 Wright Desk from Pottery Barn?

Comments (21)
http://tablelegsonline.com/
check to see if there are legs here that you can use.
slightly of-topic, but can I just say how impressed I was with this most recent PB catalog. It seems like they are taking some more design risks and it's really paying off.
what i hate, is when i have to go to the pottery barn website. find the desk to see how much it costs, then go find a link elsewhere. would it be too much to ask for people to quote a price?
here is an option that you could do in grey, but i don't know if it's the shiny nickel legs & glass top you're looking for, but with similar shaped legs and it's $400:
http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODf570&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1FRNSKS&retainNav=true&cmsrc=IMC1499
here is an option that you could do to get the nickel legs and glass top, but with a sawhorse shaped leg. i've seen this in store and it is really quite stunning:
http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODf812&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1FRNSKS&retainNav=true&cmsrc=IMC1499
and here is an option, if you can go really big with your desk, that would make a nice long work table. i actually have this as my dining table and get lots of compliments and "i can't believe that's ikea" comments. it's all in how you merchandise it. it's $200 and the legs are super shiny:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20115024
Wait till it goes on sale.
Chrome spraypaint can do wonders. You might want to think about finding some similar legs in wood and adding the finish yourself.
You may want to read the comments that go along with this picture:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8lettersuk/1104535/
I've heard that they can spontaneously shatter through temperature changes because of small flaws (invisible to the naked eye) even when completely empty of all objects.
I would not get a glass desk.
Oh here's one more, $400:
http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODf585&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1FRNDIB&retainNav=true&cmsrc=WE-SH1FRNDIB
"I've heard that they can spontaneously shatter through temperature changes because of small flaws (invisible to the naked eye) even when completely empty of all objects."
Oh yeah - Happens all the time...
:-\
The desk if $700. A little out of my budget.
For those concerned about heat/cold shattering the top, I would HOPE or think that this glass top would be tempered, like some dining room tables. I would hope so with the price...that said, couldn't you just get a little mat or something to put under, say, your laptop to avoid catastrophe? The desk is lovely.
Ikea hacker has a table like this...
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/05/vintage-mirrored-luxe-for-lack-coffee.html
atlanta designer, my bad. I added the link and price.
I had found a coffee table with glass on it from a PB catalog in about 1994-1995 and they stopped selling the glass topper for the white wood table because of breakage. Since 2004, I have a glass coffee table and dining table, plus nightstands. I'd forgotten about the PB thing until reading this today....
Thanks for the comments everyone. Im not worried about glass breaking. Tempered glass is so durable its scary. I have the glass piece already and have had it for around 7 years. I used it all throughout college with filing cabinets underneath. But, now that I am all grown up and making some real money Id like something a little more sophisticated. I have gotten some great suggestions from all of you. THANKS!
Hi Jade,
I bought the Ava desk frame from PB last year for $300 and the glass top for a Parsons Rectangular coffee table from Crate and Barrel for $129. You can have both pieces delivered directly to the stores and save yourself shipping costs. Scroll to the bottom of the Crate and Barrel page for info on glass tops. Good luck!
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-do-glass-topped-desks-scratch-011678
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=985&f=8734
I would just suck it up and buy the real thing. It's not that expensive and looks to be a nice piece. You can get creative to save a few bucks but it has been my experience that you will end up replacing your "creative" option down the road anyway. Maybe you just wait until you can afford it and get the peice you will not end up replacing.
Grant-i-pants. I dont know what you do for a living but I am a savvy shopper and refuse to pay $700 for a desk....especially when it is tiny! If you dont shop savvy for furniture you never get your money back out of it.
So, to let everyone know. I went to IKEA today and found the same exact legs as the one on the desk from PB. They are not in the catalog and they are not online. They were $30. So, I have a brand new desk for $60.
Jade, Where in Ikea did you find the legs?!?!?!
I found them in the office/workspace section. They are with the rest of the legs that ikea sells separately. Good luck in hunting these down!
A perfect solution:
Go to a glass shop and have them cut the dimensions you would like for your desktop. My desk is made up of two IKEA Vika Artur trestles and a nice glass beveled edge top. See here:
http://brightboldbeautiful.blogspot.com/2010/04/art-studio-home-office.html
@bepsf: "I've heard that they can spontaneously shatter through temperature changes because of small flaws (invisible to the naked eye) even when completely empty of all objects."
I know it sounds crazy, but that's exactly what happened to a different glass side table I got from PB. My family and I were at the opposite end of the house and thought someone threw a brick through a window or something. The sound of shattering glass was unbelievable.
We live in Arizona and it happened on a sunny room when it was over 110 degrees outside. There was nothing on top of the table, and the glass shattered as far as 12 feet away. I can only imagine what would have happened if someone had been sitting on the adjacent couch.