My New Desk and Work Space from Staples

When the boys and I moved here last month, we only brought what we could fit in the van. I had no idea what the weather would be like driving across the Midwest at Christmas and figured it would be better not to pull a trailer. Unfortunately, that meant we left a LOT behind. One of those things was my desk.

I loved that desk because it had so many cubbies and a shelf. It was perfect for what I needed. I knew once we got settled in I’d need to find a desk for my small spot. My dad and brother, oh boy, they have a big set up downstairs with all of their computer gaming stuff and their desks? lol They’re huge! I was given a space next to my dad’s computer and could only fit a desk up to 65” wide.

So, I went searching at Staples to see what they might have. I knew there were a lot of things I needed while getting settled in, but with the new job, a desk took precedence. lol Do you know how hard it is choosing a desk? Of course, when I started looking I didn’t think it would be that difficult.

I had a price range that I wanted to stick to, but I also wanted to find something I would actually like, you know what I mean? Isn’t that the way it always is when you’re shopping? My mom always told me to marry someone rich because of my tastes. =) That’s not going to happen, but my tastes haven’t changed.

As I searched through the site looking all every, single desk, I finally found the one I wanted. I liked everything about it. I knew I would end up having to get a side cabinet or file, but for now, all I cared about was the desk. I ordered the Whalen Bedford Desk & Hutch.

The first thing that caught my eye was that it looked like furniture you’d find in a den. It’s black and brown cherry. I liked the hutch with the little shelves because as with my other desk, I like putting knick-knacks on them like the clay projects my kids work on at school and photos of my kids. I like my desk to be warm and cozy.

Ok, so let’s get down to the nitty gritty of my brand new desk! It was delivered and when my dad came home that night I could tell his wheels were turning about putting it together. Now, I’ve been a single mom for 6 yrs doing everything on my own and I have to tell you, I had to come up with something so he’d let me put it together. hahahaha I like this kind of stuff.

“I need to do this for blogging dad.” Yep, used blogging to my advantage. He and my brother brought it downstairs for me and a couple of days later I went to work on it.

I know it took me a couple of hours to put it together. Actually, I’d been so busy over the past week I had to do it over a few days when I had free time. The first night I just went through all of the pieces to make sure I had everything. I put a couple of pieces together.

The next day the boys had the day off so they wanted to help. You’d think that not wanting my dad’s help I’d kind of balk at the boys pitching in, but like any parent, I wanted them to learn from our experience. It was really awesome putting it together with the boys. We talked about the different tools we were using and why we couldn’t use anything other than a hand tool. I showed them why when it was being built, there were some issues and how to either overcome them or just let them go.

One problem I had was with the tiny screws for the keyboard. They take a #1 Philips head screw driver (thank you 6 yrs of working in hardware) and those were still pretty hard to turn in. The pilot holes for these screws weren’t straight so they didn’t go into the wood well at all. =/ Personally, I think it should’ve been a Torx head to make turning it into the wood easier and not worrying about stripping it. Thankfully the screws went in far enough that I’m not too concerned and If I do get worried, I’ll just replace them.

The only other issue was the top of the desk and having put the dividers in, you had to use the cam locks, but the space between the dividers and the sides didn’t leave room for a screwdriver so I had to go at those at an angle.

So, nothing major, and something that could easily be fixed through the manufacturer. My boys helped me move the bottom half of the desk against the wall and then the next morning we raised the top part onto the desk! It was awesome! I think we were all pretty thrilled with how it turned out.

We got the computer set up right away and Buddy started using it right away. In a way, it’s become his desk. lol Not sure how that happened, but if it gets him to do his homework, I’m totally fine with it!

Now, I have to go back to Staples and find some storage to go along with my desk! No drawers means I’m left trying to find matching pieces, which I hadn’t thought of initially. Thankfully, I have a lot to choose from and the bonus for me? I just found out there’s one right down the road in this little town of mine!! When I drove by it the other day I was stoked to see it! Everything I’m going to need at a work-at-home-mom!!
PS This will be the only time that desk has nothing on it and looks this pristine! I’m keeping this photo for posterity! =)

*I was sent this desk for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own.