Reception desks · Zinc, brass & copper · For the trade
Zinc Reception Desks for New York’s Front Doors
The reception desk is the first handshake. In a Midtown lobby, a hotel on the Bowery or the front room of a design studio, it’s the one surface every visitor sees and most of them touch. We make reception desk tops and fronts with a solid zinc surface, not sheet metal, so the first impression still holds up years later.
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Why specify zinc for a reception desk
- A solid zinc surface, not sheet metal. No internal seams, because it isn’t glued up from wood or plywood pieces, and 2–3× the thickness of the 0.7–1.0 mm (about 0.03–0.04”) sheet typical of wrapped tabletops.
- Any shape at no upcharge. Curved fronts, radius ends, a raised transaction ledge, a waterfall return. The plan shape doesn’t change the price.
- A living finish that reads as craft, not catalog. Zinc settles into a soft blue-gray, and brass and copper warm with age. Prefer it to stay brighter? Our protective coating slows the patina.
- Waterproof core. No wood core to swell from mopping, planters or the coffee cup that always ends up on the ledge.
- Lighter to set. Up to 40% lighter than others. That helps in freight elevators and on finished floors.
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Built for how corporate projects actually run
- Shop drawings and samples before production. Send the millwork drawings or a design-intent sketch. We return a marked-up shop drawing, and physical finish samples come for approval.
- Material certifications with every order, for your spec book and submittals. High-grade zinc that is 99.9%+ pure and made in the USA.
- Coordination with your millworker. We detail the metal, and your desk builder details the casework. We work out transaction-counter heights, the ADA section, cable cutouts, grommets and lighting reveals together.
- Crated delivery and coordinated install on larger jobs, in New York and nationwide.
- Limited One-Year Warranty, plus a care sheet for the facilities team. See Resources.
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Where it fits
- Corporate headquarters: lobby reception, executive-floor reception and visitor-center desks.
- Hotels and hospitality: front desks, concierge desks and check-in pods.
- Architecture and design offices: a front desk that doubles as a material sample.
- Showrooms and retail flagships: welcome desks and cash wraps.
- Clubs, residential towers and amenity floors: concierge and doorman desks.
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Zinc, brass or copper?
- Zinc is quiet, gray and architectural, and it suits a stone and oak lobby.
- Brass is warm and bright, and it reads as hospitality.
- Copper is the boldest and patinates fastest.
All three come in surface textures and patina levels. See Finishes and Edges, or order samples for the design team. Lobby coffee bar too? See coffee bar counters.
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Reception desk FAQ
Can you make the whole desk or just the metal?
We make the metal top, front panels and edges. Casework comes from your millworker or desk builder, and we coordinate details with them.
What do you need to quote?
Plans and elevations, the edge section, finish and metal, and cutouts. A design-intent sketch is fine to start. See the Drawing Guide.
Can we get samples for the client presentation?
Yes. Physical finish samples in zinc, brass and copper.
Will it show fingerprints and scratches?
At first, yes. It’s a living finish. Marks blend into the patina over time, and a periodic wax keeps it even. Facilities teams get a Care Sheet (PDF).
How heavy is it, and can it go up a freight elevator?
Up to 40% lighter than others. Long tops are made in sections up to 10 feet, with no internal seams within a section. We plan where sections meet with you on the shop drawing.
Do you work outside New York?
Yes. We ship crated from Hickory, NC, nationwide.
What warranty comes with it?
A Limited One-Year Warranty.
Let’s spec your front desk.
Send the drawings or book a call.