I've made a complete desk with three shelves under the top and a compartment for the desktop computer. Twice. Using standard 244x122 cm planches and some screws. Price depends on the quality of the wood you choose. Shops will cut it to pieces for no extra money. Unfortunately I have no photos and lost the design, but I'm confident I would recreate it in minutes.

It's completely functional and not ugly. Again, you can choose real wood or some of those composites. Also maybe changing screw system (the original setup is like the one showed in TFA) you could make it nicer. I bet there are tons of designs like that out there.