Ikea VITTSJÖ Laptop Table Impressions: Very Transparent

Furniture with glass is something that I will probably not properly review in a very long time since I try to avoid buying it in the first place -- something about its less than indestructible nature and difficulty with repairing. But since I'm not really reviewing anything, why not take a look at the Ikea VITTSJO laptop table with glass in it.

Completely unrelated infrared photo.

Disclaimer: I had not had any firsthand experience with any VITTSJO laptop table products when I wrote this piece. Details were quoted from the Ikea United States website or Canada website in mid March 2017. Details on this page are NOT guaranteed for accuracy.

Ikea VITTSJÖ Laptop Table First Impressions: Glass, huh?
Just going by the product photos alone on the Ikea.ca product page, the Ikea VITTSJO laptop table (403.034.44 in white) appeared to be a fairly simple and compact piece of furniture. I saw what was essentially a frame with a glass desktop and an opaque shelf underneath that was less than half the desk's width. There was beauty in that simplicity and low profile. And a glass surface sounded like it'd be pretty easy to clean compared to bare solid wood.

The price was CA$ 39.99 in white which felt appropriate for how much furniture was involved. Terms that got my attention under the "Product description" were "Steel," "Particleboard," and "Tempered glass." There were two options for color: black-brown and white.

Something with metal I bought.

The dimensions on the VITTSJO laptop table's product page were 100 cm x 36 cm x 74 cm (width x depth x height). I had no problem with either the width or the height, they would be adequate for my uses. However, I had a 30 cm ruler on my desk and looked over at it while mentally adding 6 cm: kind of on the very shallow side. My preferred minimum is 60 cm for general work, with or without a computer, so that's really pushing it. The idea of using it as a movable stand crossed my mind, so I checked the weight under the "Package Information" and it was "23 lb 13 oz." That didn't seem too heavy but combined with the width and height, moving it on a regular basis felt difficult and inadvisable to me. Although, I could totally see it working as a side table in a room or hallway.

Anyway, I went through the "Assembly instruction" document for the VITTSJO table and did not feel like I was in a familiar place. Most of the furniture I bought from Ikea was solid wood, particleboard, and/or fiberboard. I had dealt with metal-framed furniture before but the assembly process and parts still did not look familiar -- not that it looked very difficult to me, just unfamiliar.

Final Thoughts
A glass table, huh? I was not really sold on the VITTSKO laptop table as a desk, even for just a laptop. However, what doesn't work for me likely does for someone else. With its low profile, I did see it working as a side table for something like a hallway. Still not completely on board with a glass table surface.