apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Rebecca,
I bought a glass-topped desk much like
the one pictured, but from Crate & Barrel and
a bit larger,when I was living in Chicago.

It required assembly -- I was able
to put it together myself (i'm handy,
but it still seemed fairly easy).

The desk was very durable and the frame
lightweight but sturdy (no rocking). I bought
it to provide a lighter contrast to some of
the 1930ish wood furniture near it.

I used it to write (laptop) and also had books,
fax machine, scanner and printer -- separate
units -- on it (not to mention
stacks of paper that would pile up).

I moved back to new york and still have it.
Hope this helps.

Valerie

I have a glass topped dining table, and it has developed a couple of nasty scratches over the last two years. I think it happens when I tiny grain of salt or other bit of debris gets dragged along the table as you slide something. You can be very vigilant about it, but in my experience, scratches are bound to happen.

forgot to mention that scratches weren't
a problem for me, but that may be because
I used it mostly for paper and books.The
laptop has rubber "feet" on the bottom and
I put a folded table runner under
the printer and fax.

Valerie

i had a wooden desk with a glass top growing up. our family PC was on it, and it was where i did homework, craft projects, etc. i think pre-PC my dollhouse and other toys were on it. we had that desk with the glass top for years, and i never remember it being chipped or scratched by all the serious use it got.

that said, it's not like i was using exacto-knives or anything. and the wooden heft of the desk probably acted as a bit of a shock absorber and load bearer. i'd worry more about how much weight you were putting on it than scratching issues, though. i also think you'd want a blotter if you were doing a lot of writing or drawing directly on the surface, just in terms of texture.

Yes. Glass scratches. Tempered glass scratches less than un-tempered glass.

S

Only thing I noticed with my desk was that when it was cold the glass feels VERY cold.

as scott says glass does scratch. while glass tops have clean looks that add sparkle and reflected light to a room they are high maitenance; every smudge, fingerprint, and speck of dust will show. sometimes that's the price we pay for beauty. good luck rebecca.

A little higher maintenance, maybe, but REALLY easy (and gratifying) to clean.

It scratches less than does wood, no?

I have several pieces of glass topped furniture that get used as work spaces. I've never had any problem with the tempered glass scratching, and I've never taken any special care with them.

You will, however, notice every bit of dust and dirt. Be prepared to wipe it down every couple of days.

Yes, the do scratch. But more annoying is that my optical mouse on my iMac won't work on my glass-topped desk. And an attractive mouse pad is hard to find, so I just use the back of a notebook. Not very pretty, so if anyone knows of a nice-looking mouse pad, let me know!

I have a glass topped desk and coffe table. Both have a few very fine scratches that you barely notice. The downside is the constant need to windex. I also have a dark stained solid wood dining table with a very smooth finsih. Never again! I'm not sure if it's the dark color or what but every little scratch is visible.

You can make your own mousepad pretty easily actually, many photo stores offer this option or CafePress.com lets you upload an image or choose from many (almost all horrific) designs others have self-published on their site.

I use the DWR Tavola Glass Table ( http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=1483 ) as a desk and haven't had a problem with scratches. It's thick and tempered, though. The need to use a mouse-pad for my optical mouse is definitely the biggest drawback!

Click my name for a cute mouse mat.

Rebecca: We recently bought a glass and metal L-shaped desk off a Craigslist post. It was exactly like the desk we were looking at (new at over $200).The sellers were asking $30.00 because they said it had been very used.I think they had it at least 3 years or more. The desk was heavily used for sure-the years of dirt cleaned off easily from the metal structural parts and once cleaned the glass only showed about 3 small scratches. We anticipate many more years of use from this great piece. Hope you enjoy yours.
As for the mouse and it's pad- Ikea has a simple black circle pad (it reminds me of a large dot in a URL!)-I think it was a dollar.

Can't you just cut a piece of leather into a square and use that as a mouse pad?

I fell victim to the "glass looks so clean and contemporary" mindset, and my words of advice are to avoid it unless you want to practically live with Windex at the ready. Every little speck of dust, every finger print, it all shows immediately. And yes, I think glass is very easy to scratch. One drag with your laptop and it will have fine scratches that can not be removed.

I had a glass top made for my desk 8 years ago. The glass is the surface (does not sit on anything other than the desk legs (made of wood I stained). At the time I have a desktop compter so I had to get glass that was tempered and thick enough to hold the weight of my very heavy monitor. I still have the desk today and don't have a scratch on it so I think it depends on how the glass is treated. Need-less-to-say, my glass is thick & heavy as sin.

I have used a glass top desk as my primary workstation for a year now and have had absolutely no problem with scratches. I have used it for both my laptop and as a drawing light table, with both functions working perfectly. While the dust is slightly annoying, for a college student like myself, there are often larger messes than the dust so it usually gets disregarded. Dust alone should not stop anyone, in my opinion, from buying a glass topped piece of furniture like the great desk you are considering.

I work part time at Pottery Barn and have had the Ava desk on display for a few months now.

The floor models get pretty beat up, but the Ava desk has held up. No scratches but plenty of finger prints and dust.

hope that helps!

I've had glass-topped coffee tables for years, and just remaining concious of not dragging anything across it seemed to keep it scratch-free.

I also have a related question -- I just bought a stainless steel kitchen workspace and had it cut down to desk height. When brand new it looked amazingly hot (particularly with a mac laptop and display on it). But immediately it's picking up small scratches (which I dont mind terrribly), but just touching it (especially resting my forearms on it) is leaving it dingy looking. Anything I can treat this with to keep that from happening? Was I nuts to think it would stay shiny and new for more than a few days?

erika, my favorite mouse pad is from moss plain grey and their motto please do not touch printed on it. go to www.mossonline.com

i just bought a desk from room and board and covered it with vyco--people forget about vyco. its such a great work surface and i like the light green look--it brings me back (they have ivory and light gray too)

scott b, i have bought a simple human mitt at the container store (click on my name for a link) that you just moisten slightly to keep stainless (and chrome) looking clean and shiny.

on topic, i've had a glass coffee table and a mirrored desk for ages -- no scratches. i do run a feather duster over them every few days though...

I have a clear glass dining table and a frosted glass desk. The frosted glass on the desk definitely doesn't show nearly the amount of fingerprints or dust as the clear glass.

I think dining tables get scratched more often because many ceramic plates have unglazed feet, which can be very abrasive.

2 thoughts:

1) Any smooth surface with a high sheen (lacquer, powdercoated metal, glass) is going to reveal every scratch and fingerprint. However, if a glass tabletop does get badly scratched, its usually very easy to replace the tabletop buy purchasing a new tabletop cut to size from a glass retailer. Its certainly easier than having an entire wooden desk taken to a furniture refinisher to have scratches removed from a wooden surface.

2) There are products on the market to help buff out glass scratches.

I can't imagine that there is a surface easier to replace or repair if blemished. If fact, many people have glass custom cut to act as a work surface on wooden tables and desks. Go for the glass unless you plan on putting very heavy items on the desk or the fingerprints will bother you.

I had a glass top coffee table in my old apartment and it drove me nuts!! It never looked clean. It always had fingerprints and dust on it no matter how much I cleaned it. It was very frustrating.

I love the modern/clean look of glass tables/desk so I actually built one myself a couple years ago in a moment of DIY-inspiration. I frosted the underside to disguise fingerprints/smudges from daily use and to keep my OCD-tendencies at bay (I feel compelled to windex my glass coffee table every day). Instead of using etching powder (I was afraid it might weaken the glass) I used a frosting paste from wallpaper paste, powdered paint and PVA glue (saw it on HGTV). I had a frame built around it by the carpenter at the hardware store and used screw-on legs. I painted the entire frame/legs in matte paint that mimiced wrought iron. It was beautiful! ....BUT - I recently had to go out and buy a classic 'old-school' wooden desk and toss out the glass desk/table.

The glass desk was ridiculously heavy and since I move every few years - this was a serious problem for me. Secondly, despite the frosted underside, my optical mouse didn't work and having to use a mouse-mad killed the modern-chic-clean look of it. I'm still hunting for a clean/durable/practical glass desk/table that doesn't weigh a ton...

I haven't received mine yet, but here's a thin and translucent mouse pad I think would look fairly decent on a glass desk:

http://shinza.com/product_info.php?products_id=68

they say its supposed to work for optical mice. i'll update when I get mine.

works great. its thin and translucent so have to spend a minute getting the air bubbles out from underneath, but then you're set.

Hi everyone - Thanks for your suggestions, and sorry for not getting back for so long to let you know what happened. I was very impressed by the breadth of experience and opinions on glass topped desks! I decided not to go with one based on the cleaning factor - I'm not a terrific duster and I anticipated that this would be a continual nuisance based on what a lot of you said. Thanks again for your input!

ok, if anyone is still looking at this article, i wanted to point out that all your optical mouse needs, to work, is a white surface, so why not find your own design online somewhere that doesnt use much service and print it out on white card stock or something, you can also have it professionally laminated if you want to avoid stains or being ruined in any way.

as for glass desks, I bought a black metal framed desk with a clear tempered glass top and not even 1 full day into have it set up and its already got a couple scratchs on it. Im also not a neat person so the glass shows finger prints and smudges well. i dont have my laptop on it, but i have my lamp, speakers, and monitor for my Desktop on it as well, all rubber or cloth on the bottom though.

What im thinking about doing is going to a craft store, buying some Armour Etch Cream, and stencils and etching a design over the top of the desk, if it doesnt turn out the way i like, i dump more cream on the top and Etch the whole top so it looks frosted..