If you type the word "desk" enough, it stops looking like a real word

I have been tossing ideas around in my head for a while now - what to do with the ol' desk. Right now it looks like this:

It's basically an old IKEA coffee-table-top resting on 2 wood file cabinets. Wires are askew. Waste basket is falling-apart ancient. Also radiator needs a custom-built cover.

On top of everything, the desk is visible from the couch. So instead of catching up on Housewives, I spend half my time glaring at the office.

Last week, two of my favorite blogs posted inspirational desk photos:

via

via

So I found a wooden top from IKEA in a size that would work nicely with our space.

I do not want to work with the existing one because it is too long, and it's warping slightly. Also just thinking about cutting a piece of wood sounds like an insurmountable task.

Anyway, we need something a little chunkier and straighter, like this:

Varde countertop
(Pretend the "a" in "Varde" has one of those double-dot Scandinavian symbols over it)

I was all proud of myself today. I had my new great idea. The top is $100. We could revamp the office for the price of the top plus paint and stain and supplies that we probably already owned. And IKEA delivers! Score!! Because also stepping into an IKEA seems like an even more insurmountable task than cutting a piece of wood.

Except that IKEA delivery costs $99.

Looks like somebody's takin' a trip to the big blue box sometime soon...