Well because with the monitor option I would be paying all that money to have exactly what I have now, just 4" bigger... Not really worth it. And really I wanted a 26 or 28 inch screen which costs close to a grand for a good one. A 32" HDTV however is pretty cheap, and would be huge, therefore worth it. I'm only interested in 8bit screens that use a really good panel and the price of those are similar or more than a good 32inch HDTV. You realise you can get a good 32" HDTV for less than £300? 24" Dell U2410 is about £350 even though it's 6 inches smaller.
I have a chunky big black Ikea desk, roughly 5 ft by 2.5 with a matching (but separate & on wheels) drawer set. Just about big enough, could definitely tolerate it being at least half a foot wider.
Lots of good feedback so far guys. Thanks a lot. Have a good idea for a starting point. I'll post some pics when I make some progress with it.
Used to have a corner desk, and by corner desk I mean a goofy little triangle thing with multiple levels. It was terrible and I'm glad not to have it anymore. At work I have an L shaped desk, not in a corner in the strictest sense unless you count cubicle walls, it's about 2' deep, 4' long on one leg, 6' on the other. It's not bad but I find myself using only one leg at a time while the other sits unused. At home I use a 6' x 3' rectangular dining table. The big no-nonsense rectangle is by far my favorite, it has my keyboard and mouse in the center, center monitor behind them, side monitors at angles on either side, then my PC and PS3 behind the right and left side monitors respectively. Really the only thing it needs is some cable routing holes and better legs, since it's designed as a dining table it's not meant for having someone sitting along the middle of one side stretching his legs across.