Office desks in Cape Town

Panel leg or steel frame

The first choice is what holds the top up, and it sets the price more than anything else.

Panel leg desks stand on two boards of the same melamine as the top, with the front modesty panel built in. They are the cheapest way to put a solid desk in a room, they hide cables and knees, and they suit training rooms, call centres and anywhere the desks stand in rows. The panel leg straight desk is R 1 782.50 incl VAT (R 1 550 ex VAT) for a 900 by 600 and the cluster version R 2 587.50 incl VAT (R 2 250 ex VAT) a seat.

Steel frame desks stand on powder coated steel tube with levelling feet, so the top floats and the room reads lighter. You choose the leg profile: rectangular, A frame, loop or round. The single steel frame desk starts at R 4 427.50 incl VAT (R 3 850 ex VAT) and the steel bench, two or four tops on one frame with a cable tray included, at R 9 315 incl VAT (R 8 100 ex VAT).

There is no durability gap between the two. Steel costs more because it is a second material and a second factory process, and it buys you the look, not a longer life.

Board thickness, and why 16 mm exists

The panel leg desk comes in four board builds: 32 mm top on 22 mm legs, 22 on 22, a light duty 22 top on 16 legs, and 16 on 16. A 22 mm top is the standard for a desk somebody sits at every day. Go to 32 mm for the heavier look of an executive office, and it is what the bowfront and the sculpted ply desks are built around. Go down to 16 mm only for a training room or a desk that is used a few hours a week; it is the honest budget option and it is priced as one.

Size: what fits on the top

Tops run from 900 by 600 up to 1800 by 750, with 1500 by 750 the size most offices choose. A 1200 top holds one screen and a laptop. Two screens on arms need 1500 or more. 1800 is for someone who spreads drawings or works from paper. Most desks also take an extension: a corner link that turns a straight desk into an L (R 900 on the floating top, R 3 700 on the panel leg including the second 1200 desk), a fitted 900 by 600 return, or a half moon conference end for the manager who meets at the desk.

Storage: mobile, fitted or built in

A mobile pedestal rolls under the desk on castors and moves with the person; three drawers from R 3 550. A fitted pedestal hangs under the top, keeps the floor clear and costs less, from R 2 050. A desk height pedestal stands beside the desk and extends the worktop, from R 3 200. The slim line desks are built around their pedestal, which carries one end of the top instead of a leg, so the pedestal is always on the quote and the price shows it.

Colour

Twelve board colours, all included in the price: whites and greys, oaks, elm, walnut, Leander and black. Panel leg desks let you pick the top and the legs separately, so a Barrel Oak top on Storm Grey legs costs the same as all white. Steel frames come in white, light grey, aluminium grey, storm grey, matte black and toasted linen. If you are matching furniture you already have, send a photo with the quote and we will match the closest board.

Power and cables

Desks in a row link to each other, so a bench of four needs one wall plug, not four. A flip up power unit set into the top, with two plugs and USB, is R 7 500 all in: the unit, the cut out and the five metre cable to the wall, each on its own line on the quote. A round unit that drops into the 80 mm cable port is R 3 650. A wire basket cable tray under the top is R 400 and comes standard on the steel bench.

Buying a floor of desks

Past about six desks, order everything in one go so the boards come from the same batch and the colours match, ask for the delivery date on the quote and plan the move around it, and decide screens and power before the order rather than after, because a cut out for a power unit is made at the factory. A site visit is available on request.