Ok so for most of my office desk series I have shown you guys a bunch of great desks, all of which I really like, but most of which aren’t really all that practical.  So to change things up I wanted to show you this gorgeous black desk which has more of a classic design as opposed to the more modern minimalist designs I have shown you up until now.

The Portofino Decorative Desk is made by Stanley Furniture, and offers an aged appeal with extreme antiquing and the Portofino’s signature rub-thorough finish.  It features a center keyboard drawer, two utility drawers, and one file drawer, and comes in either ivory or basque black.

You can buy the desk at Black Lion Furniture for $1179.

Like most other people who have become slaves of the workplace, I spend an inordinate amount of time checking my email. Partly because I take pride in responding to work related emails in a timely fashion, but also because it’s the ultimate distraction from an otherwise dull environment. I mean who knows that types of delightful surprises might be waiting in your inbox? Perhaps a message from an old friend, a new facebook notification, or maybe the lottery chose you as their first random online winner!

Point being, sometimes you need to know right away when you get a new email. So why not use this strangely large, envelope shaped blue box, that lights up when you have a new message. It works in the background via USB and supports Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Outlook Express, and POP3.

[Product Page via CrunchGear]