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great vintage find, would look great with your red chair and a nice task light

Is it faux finished?

If it is a good faux finish, perhaps faux birds-eye or burlwood, or a good plain finish, it is absolutely vintage cool.

I think the shape of the piece is very cool. I would suggest giving it paint job, maybe a crisp white. I'm a fan of original vintage finishes usually but this piece looks like it has a really strong wood grain which might be overpowering. You could really make a statement with a glossy white finish and a modern red chair.

I've seen desks like this...I'm guessing it's oak or oak veneer. That can look really nice painted a satin black (maybe thin the paint out a bit so it doesn't fill the pores with paint and they can show a bit of texture).

If you like it what does it matter?

I like it!

It looks nice in the pic, like an old library desk. I like it.

Looks vintage from the picture, probably 1930s or there abouts. These "Sam Spade" desks were made out of solid oak -- not veneer -- and hold up amazingly well. If it's looking "dumpy," give it a coat of wood stain and it'll look great.

My husband has a similar desk, and it holds a huge amount of stuff, while concealing all the ugly wires that so often dangle from more streamlined modern desks.

I say go for it.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60146764

would look good with this task light

ooh... good ideas - I have the same desk at home and use it for my craft area. I had considered getting rid of it to get something a little more streamlined but the huge work space it just too hard to give up. I love the idea of painting it glossy white though... I may have to try that one of these days.

Thanks all for the suggestions! So, I ended up buying the desk, if for no other reason than it was only $50, and I need it only for the last semester and a half of my partner's grad studies. I probably won't paint because of the effort and since I'll probably sell it too soon to make it worthwhile (I found an encouragingly similar one at a vintage retailer for $750! http://getbackinc.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/3/products_id/3437?osCsid=32s62pnogdsvt8avpd2i14a1i4). But glad to see no one thinks I'll be living with an eyesore in the meantime. Thanks again all!

We have this desk; it's a common one from banks in the 60s (if it's real wood). There was laminate on the top of ours, so we just stripped that off & refinished the top. We have too much stuff on it now, but it's sturdy & looks sharp as long as we keep the Old English on it.

My friend has one like- darker finish, though. He's got chrome desk accessories and great art: it looks surprisingly fierce.

O this brings back memories. My dad, a minister, has had this desk since before I was born and has moved it into every church he has pastored. Sometimes he's had to move it into the office via the window, as it wouldn't fit through the door! When I was a kid, I'd visit him at office and he'd let me use one of the pull out surfaces as my own little desk to color at. My parents still like to tell the story of buying it at an auction in Kansas City in the early 80's. If it's in good condition, it might be worth quite a bit.

I love it! I have an oak filing cabinet I bought at an antique place a few years ago in exactly that style, right down to the metal-wrapped feet, 35 X 15". It looks like one end of the desk chopped off - three handles, one double-depth file drawer and one shallow drawer. Weighs a ton!

Your desk would look great as is with the red chair, but depending on what the wood is it would look great in black also.