Next Project: a new desk!

Now that I'm really starting to get things organized in regards to my meal planning, budget, spending, and wedding planing I'm having a hard time finding a place to work on and store everything. Over the weekend I decided putting a desk in my home would be really beneficial. We don't have any extra bedrooms, but we do have some space in the corner of our dining room. Currently, our dining room is actually quite empty and looks a little awkward. We have a large table and a small wine rack and that's it, so I think adding in a desk will not only help me out, but also add a little to our empty dining room.

I specifically want a desk just like this:

It's small enough that it won't look too obnoxious in our small apartment but still provides me with everything I'm looking for. I like the drawers to hold post its, pens/pencils, and other nick nacks. I'm in love with the cork board on the back for hanging up a calendar and little notes. The storage up top is perfect size for binders and books. 

Finding a desk likes this is unfortunately not as easy as it seems and also it looks pretty expensive so I'm searching for ways to get something similar. I found some adorable desks on pottery barn and adorable chairs but there is no way on earth I will spend $800 on a desk and $300 on a chair. That's literal insanity. I think what I might do is find a cute corner desk like this on craigslist for under $100 and then have Jack build me a hutch to go on top. He might not love the idea, but our 2 year anniversary is coming up and that would be an awesome present!

After doing some more research I think another good idea is to buy a couple wall shelves from ikea or similar store like these ones: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S19858068/


and placing them above a small corner desk like this one:

I can add this to the other side:



Making the grand total $135. This is much cheaper than the original I'm sure, however, it doesn't look as nice and I honestly think I might be able to do the whole thing for even cheaper I just got to rack my brain a little bit or wait for a really nice one to come up on craigslist for dirt cheap.