Today, manufacturers offer desks made of a variety of materials and their combinations. You can buy a wood desk, a glass desk or a desk made of it’s less expensive substitutes, as well as made of metal, plastic, and even artificial stone. The application of all these materials for the production of desks has both it’s advantages and disadvantages; the choice depends not only on the buyer’s personal preferences, but on the desk’s purpose as well. Let us consider the desks’ peculiarities, conditioned by the materials used for their manufacture.
Desks made of natural wood always look very respectable. No variants of artificial material’s coloring can come up with the beauty of the noble wood breeds’ texture. Of course, a good wooden desk can not be cheap, and the harder and more beautiful the wood is, the more expensive is the desk.
A wooden desk is an ecologically clean thing, there are no harmful substances here. In addition, wood is a warm material. Put your hand to a wooden surface, and then to glass or metal, and you will understand what I mean. For some people it is important.
Wooden desks do not like both superfluous humidity, and the lack of humidity. There is a danger of spoiling the surface of the desk, spilling some water or any other liquid on it, or putting down a cup of hot tea. True, some wooden desks have a transparent coating that not only protects the desk from water, other liquids and some chemicals, but can even stand high temperatures.
Glass desks are fairly quickly gaining popularity; there are several reasons for that. First of all, it is a quite new material for furniture making, and desks made of it are still unusual. The transparent surface does not visually take up much space in the room, looks lighter and more elegant. A glass desktop is resistant to scratches, so the desk is easy to wash and wipe, it is not afraid of water. The glass parts of the desk сan have darkenings or any tints, as well as be mirrored.
The only but major disadvantage of such desks is the fragility of glass. There are different types of glass, and having the same thickness, the strength of glasses made in different ways, can differ hundredfold. Ordinary glass can be broken by a simple hand pressure, while the glass made by a special technology, can stand a considerable load, and even a hard blow, and in case of breaking it will not fly to fragments of broken glass.
Metal desks are not widely practised yet. They are mostly used in cases when it’s necessary to provide heightened strength and durability of the desk. To manufacture these desks both steel and light metals such as aluminum and titanium are used. While using a metal desk you should pay attention to electrical safety.
Desks made of plastic have their advantages. These desks are light, resistant to liquids and dust. They do not require special care. Plastic itself can be of any color, what can give a variety, for example, to a nursery. Perhaps, the only important question is environmental friendliness. There are many different technologies of plastics manufacture, which are more or less safe for constant use. When purchasing such a desk (as well as any other) demand a quality certificate from the seller.
