plywood, a jigsaw, and a router-
you're the designer
make something!
ikea does cheap metal legs

Thanks Chairman, but I have moved passed the college BS need to create my home furnishings from Home Depot pipe fittings and plywood. I appreciate the idea, and I understand were you are coming from, but I was thinking something a bit more professional. I have no intention of playing the starving artist, and believe that there is nothing wrong with appreciating the work of other designers. I know that there are some extremely talented furniture designers out there who have tackled this problem, just wanted to cast a line and see what comes back.

I like my Toshiba laptop - no desktop.

Hermann Miller...?

Room and Board has some really nice tables. I bought three of them when I moved into my new place. They're real minimal and look good with whatever decor you might have. The frames are a blackened, dull steel, very basic but incredibly well built and level. They offer a few different options for tops. I got glass for all of mine, because I live in a loft space and it's one large room and having glass tops makes the room look a lot larger.

The series is called Parsons.

Here's a link: http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/coll.do?coll=RB1113&dept=RB217

If there's a store in your area, you should go check them out. They're pricey, but totally worth it imho and the design is so basic and non-imposing that it'll never wear on you. In 10 years, these tables will still look good.

P.S. - You could even buy the frames and fab your own tops if you wanted. They're strong enough to hold anything. Perfect for, say... buying some clamps and a swivel arm to mount your flatpanel LCD on : )

yeah, the Room and Board table are nice, but they're expensive for what you're getting. If thats the look you're going for, I'd recommend drawings something out and bringing to your local metal shop.

They ARE expensive, but what they lack in afforability they make up in pure strength and aesthetic. I'd honestly go to a store and have a look. Try lifting one of them up off the ground a little :)

Knoll A3 office system by Asymptote
KNOLL A3

this has to be the coolest

hmmm -- what exactly do you mean by "professional" ? There's no reason a nicely designed birch-ply/stained/finished workstation couln't be both professional and designerly. Think: WWED (what would eames do). bend some good quality plywood, throw in some nice connections and accents, add a nice chair (Leap from steelcase is my fav) and you're done. build it in to wherever youre putting it and you've also added value to your house! nothing simpler. (and very professional)

When office staging, the less you put furniture in it, the better. A desk, a chair, and an area rug are perfect for a home office in most cases.