When I bought my first home office desk several years ago, it fell apart after three moves. I definitely got what I paid for. Since then, the quality of home office furniture has improved and there are more home office furniture options available. Home office furniture falls into three main categories: high-end, mid-range and economy.

The quality of home office furniture continues to improve.

• High-end or premium furniture uses various woods including oak, maple, pine and mahogany. You’ll find dovetail drawer construction (rather than drawer-fronts glued or nailed to the drawer), a latching keyboard pullout—you can use it instead as a drawer—and high-quality ball bearings. High-end desks often are made out of high-quality wood—kiln-dried is the best—or hardwoods with a higher-end veneer. Sligh, Paoli and Hooker Furniture make quality high-end desks and you’ll find other options at Design Within Reach and Desk by Design.

• Mid-range furniture offers some of the same benefits of high-end pieces but is more affordable. The drawers have either dovetail construction or fronts nailed to the drawer, nice finishes and even come in a variety of colors. Mid-range furniture uses a combination of wood and MDF (medium density fiberboard). Look for mid-range home office furniture at various retailers including Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Ballard Designs and Computer Furniture Direct. Also check with furniture dealers in your area and check out one of my favorite manufacturers, Aspen Home.

• Economy furniture, mostly RTA (ready-to-assemble), is designed to function at a low price and often is made from less expensive particleboard or from MDF that’s rated lower than what’s used on mid-range furniture. On the surface of RTA furniture is laminate, melamine or some other type of veneer that changes the look of the furniture and gives the surface added protection. Sometimes plastic is used on metal glide systems on RTA to save money. RTA lines are available at various office supply superstores and discount stores including Office Depot, Staples, Office Max, Target, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Costco.