The carpet installers came today, and suddenly the basement looks finished. It's funny how going from a bare concrete floor to a carpet makes a room go from construction site to habitable space in a single step. Even when all the drywall, paint and trim is done, it looks odd, but throw in some carpet and it looks official. All that's left is the finish electric and paint touchup, and it'll be done. Finally my new house will actually be my new house.
So, that's good news. But, the cloud to that silver lining, is that figuring out my furniture situation is driving me fucking mental. So far, I've really only been focusing on a nice big computer desk, and even that is too much. There's a few basic things I want, and there's a million websites, with a million product lines, and every one covers about 65% of what I want at any given time.
The Jerker computer desk, and Jerker desk are two front runners in the search. Hussain has the computer desk version, he seems to like it, and since I thought it was interesting and humorously named, he got me a gift certificate to Ikea. Since I have that, I will most definitely be getting something from the world's richest man, but it may not end up being a Jerker. It might be some sort of TV unit, some more of these simple shelves which I already have a pair of, that I've been dragging with me since I lived in Norwalk, or I might just get some sort of bizzare artsy bullshit to confuse Bud. Looking at shit like that makes me wish I was stylish enough to set up a whole room, rather than obsessed with functionality, and generally haphazard.
If I had a bunch of money, or was willing to totally give up on the WRX STi dream, then I might invest in some of this modular office furniture. Like everything intended to be sold to business, it's roughly double the price it should be, but it's also pretty cool, modular, and functional. This stuff is pretty much what I'm looking for. I like the idea of having overhead storage bins, tackboards, and lights under the storage bins. L-shaped to fit into a corner is nice. The main concern here is that I use such big CRT monitors, that any desk of this sort will lack the depth to hold the two monitors I like to set in front of me. I'm not sure if I can have the tackboard and the monitors at the same time. Maybe these Bestar units will be a good option, they're priced for the socialist's budget, being made in Canada.
While I was poking around tonight, I came across this site, which has some pretty cool stuff. It's right up my alley in terms of functionality, with shelves, built in power strips, and rugged construction. On the other hand, it's butt ugly industrial sorta stuff, and while it might look good in a shop or garage, I'm trying to merge style and functionality in my new basement. Going with the sienna sand color scheme, trying to have more wood than metal, if possible. Still, benches like those confuse me, and create the state of paralysis I find myself in now, wanting to have all the cool aspects of everything I see, and none of the downsides.
All in all, I'll need a computer desk or two, a workbench, a TV stand or entertainment center, some seating for the TV area, and maybe a fishtank. I think for sure I should get a fishtank. I have some furniture now, which I plan to move down there, and phase out over time. I've used folding tables for my computers for years now, and I'm getting sick of them. They're big, cheap, and durable, but the angled supports that run down to the legs nail me in the knees about once a month, and restrict me to sitting only at the very center of the table. I've got my old painting table, that my dad and I made back when I was in Norwalk. I like it, it's served me well, but it's white and grey, and I might want to set up a bigger workbench that I can use for painting, paintball guns, and other small projects. I can't even imagine how I'm going to figure out what sorts of seating to get for the TV area... Oh well. All in due time.