Columnist Susan Snyder: Spending on desk can’t be tabled

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2003 | 8:19 a.m.

My new desk for the study was a deal at $225.

So far it has cost $855.

Buying a new piece of furniture is like pulling the loose thread on the hem of a sweater. Pretty soon the thing is unraveling up to your armpits.

First off, The Other and I share the office room, so he needed a matching desk.

Why? For the same reason I need five pairs of black shoes.

Putting larger desks in this room called for major rearranging. It turned into three days of reorganizing books, moving book cases and swapping dressers in two guest rooms.

We ran out of boxes for the books we weeded out of our collection, so we had to purchase more ($20).

Once the book case, file cabinet and dresser that matched the new desks were all situated in the study, it was obvious the daybed that also shares the room needed a whole new look and a new shelf overhead.

Why? See "black shoes" above.

Three stores and $150 later, the daybed now has a new cover, sheets, pillow shams, throw pillows and an overhead shelf (to match the desks, of course).

The knickknacks I had planned to place on the shelf now don't match the new decor. While trying to figure out what to put there, I noticed the guest room across the hall looked dull in comparison.

Why? (Black shoes.)

New picture frames for some family portraits in the guest room helped ($50). But it also meant updating the look in the guest bathroom a little with a new shower curtain ($20) and shower curtain rings ($10).

This last purchase, I told myself, was long overdue as that bathroom had received new towels more than a month ago (a purchase that likely planted the seeds of this whole "fall update" disease).

The situation continued to unravel as the new, uncluttered look of the office room forced us to see that we have far too many magazines stacked on the coffee table in the front room (magazine rack, $30).

And the place could use a couple of throw rugs ($75).

Why? (Shoes.)

The room's open floor plan means the new rugs make me weary of the same old dining room table coverings. I figure I can get a deal if I look around a little -- new placemats and napkins ought to do the trick.

I am hoping to keep it under $50.

And let's not even talk about paint or curtains. If the disease progresses much further, my checking account will have to be amputated.

The Other has watched in amazement as I have turned an economical purchase of a single item into a rash that spreads from room to room without any sign of abating.

He doesn't question it. He simply fetches the ladder, hands me the electric screwdriver, steadies the level and ambles along through the linen store, while I chatter on about how we must do something about that cubbyhole in which all of our audio-visual equipment sits.

He snickers every now and then, but I don't really expect him to understand.

After all, he only owns one pair of black shoes.

What's with that, anyway?