More photos follow the text
Well, my hubby did a phenomenal job. I absolutely love my new work station! It has everything I wanted and needed to do my favorite things! I wanted to post pictures of the final product, but I will be posting the directions tomorrow evening. I'd love to hear what you think and if you have any questions, leave some comments!
Supplies
0-12 ClosetMaid Fabric Drawers
1 ClosetMaid 9-Cube Organizer
1 ClosetMaid Three-Shelf Storage Organizer
1 ClosetMaid Two Door Storage Organizer
2 ClosetMaid 2-Drawer Storage Organizer
Plexi-glass to cover work space
12 Feet of baseboard trim
13 Feet of 1 1/4 inch trim (for around the outside of the desk)
25 Square Feet of 3/4 inch Plywood
White Painters Caulk
White Paint
3- 2"x4"x8" studs
3 inch wood screws
1 5/8 wood screws
2 dozen finishing nails
***Update***
Nick typed up the directions for my desk. Let me know if you have any questions!
Craft Carpentry
The idea of building a craft desk started long ago. Laura had been bugging me to build her a craft desk since we moved into our house in St. Louis, almost 3 years ago. Once we moved to Houston and I didn’t have any projects to do around the house, I figured I would surprise her with a desk. She had told me she wanted a lot work space, plenty of storage, and she wanted it to look classy.
*Note - The desk I built was not meant to move around the room, it can be taken apart though.
Planning:
The first thing I did was figured out what dimensions I wanted the desk to be. To utilize the space, I decided to make an L-shaped desk with one side being deeper and longer than the other. The long side from one wall is 7’ x 3’ deep and the short side is 5’ x 2’ deep. I took some measurements, sketched up a few ideas, and then headed to the closest hardware store.
Shopping:
In the closet and storage section, I found some fairly cheap (ClosetMaid) closet drawers, cubes, 3 shelf organizer, and cabinets. I went with white since our house has white trim, but there are many different options if you want a different look. I wanted to use these items as the base of the desk. All of them were the same height at 32”, which is a good height to sit at. Then I went to get the desk top in the lumber isle. I went with a 3/4”x4’x8’ piece of birch hardwood plywood, but if you want to make it less expensive, you can always go with MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). It is important to get a thick top because even though it is heavier, it will require less support in the middle and provide a more stable desk top. The only other material that I got, that I wanted to mention, was the trim. To give the desk a more finished look, I bought base molding to go around the desk top and chair rail molding to go around the face of the desk top. Laura listed the rest of the material needed.
Building:
STEP 1 -To start things off, I assembled all of the closet storage. This step is easy since all of the units should come with directions.
Step 2 - Next, I placed the closet storage in the finished locations. I chose to place the drawers and the 3 shelf organizer at one end, the cabinet at the other end, and the 9 shelf cube in the corner of the L-shape. The purpose of putting the cube in the corner is to give support as well as create additional hidden storage.
Step 3 - Once I had everything in place, I took inside measurements for the frame. Even though I bought a thick desk top, I wanted to make sure the desk was supported. I built the frame using 2”x4” studs and screwed it into the wall and the storage units while making sure the top of the frame was at the same height as the storage units. Make sure to install cross support if you build a deep desk, which I ended up doing.
Step 4 - I then measured what the desk top would be, cut the plywood, and screwed it to the frame and the storage units.
Step 5 - Then paint, stain, or treat the desk top to match the storage units, this is pretty self explanatory. You could also do this prior to installing the desk top.
Step 6 - Next, I put the base molding along the backside of the top of the desk along the wall using finishing nails. I also took the chair molding and attached that to the front face of the desk top to hide the seam between the storage units and the top. To make things easy, you should apply your paint, stain, or finish prior to placing the molding. Along with the desk top, I chose to paint everything white.
Step 7 - I wanted to give Laura a few little accessories with the desk. I decided to buy a few small shelves for on the wall. I also put 2 cork boards on the wall so she can pin up any articles or ideas she may have will crafting. For one of the cork boards, I am going to attach sheet metal to the entire cork area and have Laura cover it with fabric. This will allow her to use magnets instead of push pins.
That’s it. Overall, I spent about a day making her craft desk, but with painting it actually took longer since I had to wait for it to dry. The total cost to build her custom desk was about $200, which was much cheaper than letting her go buy a desk this size. I was happy to do this for her and will probably add little things here and there to her craft room.
The idea of building a craft desk started long ago. Laura had been bugging me to build her a craft desk since we moved into our house in St. Louis, almost 3 years ago. Once we moved to Houston and I didn’t have any projects to do around the house, I figured I would surprise her with a desk. She had told me she wanted a lot work space, plenty of storage, and she wanted it to look classy.
*Note - The desk I built was not meant to move around the room, it can be taken apart though.
Planning:
The first thing I did was figured out what dimensions I wanted the desk to be. To utilize the space, I decided to make an L-shaped desk with one side being deeper and longer than the other. The long side from one wall is 7’ x 3’ deep and the short side is 5’ x 2’ deep. I took some measurements, sketched up a few ideas, and then headed to the closest hardware store.
Shopping:
In the closet and storage section, I found some fairly cheap (ClosetMaid) closet drawers, cubes, 3 shelf organizer, and cabinets. I went with white since our house has white trim, but there are many different options if you want a different look. I wanted to use these items as the base of the desk. All of them were the same height at 32”, which is a good height to sit at. Then I went to get the desk top in the lumber isle. I went with a 3/4”x4’x8’ piece of birch hardwood plywood, but if you want to make it less expensive, you can always go with MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). It is important to get a thick top because even though it is heavier, it will require less support in the middle and provide a more stable desk top. The only other material that I got, that I wanted to mention, was the trim. To give the desk a more finished look, I bought base molding to go around the desk top and chair rail molding to go around the face of the desk top. Laura listed the rest of the material needed.
Building:
STEP 1 -To start things off, I assembled all of the closet storage. This step is easy since all of the units should come with directions.
Step 2 - Next, I placed the closet storage in the finished locations. I chose to place the drawers and the 3 shelf organizer at one end, the cabinet at the other end, and the 9 shelf cube in the corner of the L-shape. The purpose of putting the cube in the corner is to give support as well as create additional hidden storage.
Step 3 - Once I had everything in place, I took inside measurements for the frame. Even though I bought a thick desk top, I wanted to make sure the desk was supported. I built the frame using 2”x4” studs and screwed it into the wall and the storage units while making sure the top of the frame was at the same height as the storage units. Make sure to install cross support if you build a deep desk, which I ended up doing.
Step 4 - I then measured what the desk top would be, cut the plywood, and screwed it to the frame and the storage units.
Step 5 - Then paint, stain, or treat the desk top to match the storage units, this is pretty self explanatory. You could also do this prior to installing the desk top.
Step 6 - Next, I put the base molding along the backside of the top of the desk along the wall using finishing nails. I also took the chair molding and attached that to the front face of the desk top to hide the seam between the storage units and the top. To make things easy, you should apply your paint, stain, or finish prior to placing the molding. Along with the desk top, I chose to paint everything white.
Step 7 - I wanted to give Laura a few little accessories with the desk. I decided to buy a few small shelves for on the wall. I also put 2 cork boards on the wall so she can pin up any articles or ideas she may have will crafting. For one of the cork boards, I am going to attach sheet metal to the entire cork area and have Laura cover it with fabric. This will allow her to use magnets instead of push pins.
That’s it. Overall, I spent about a day making her craft desk, but with painting it actually took longer since I had to wait for it to dry. The total cost to build her custom desk was about $200, which was much cheaper than letting her go buy a desk this size. I was happy to do this for her and will probably add little things here and there to her craft room.
***Click on the picture to view a larger version.***
The chair that I use for my desk is from my beautiful grandma. She passed 13 years ago :(. I am going to do my first refurbishing with this piece of furniture. I will be painting the trim on the cork boards white. I will cover one of the cork boards with sheet metal for magnets, and both will be covered with some beautiful fabric. The plexi-glass on the left side is fabulous to work on. I know my fabric won't snag on any of the rough wood, and it's great when I get glue all over the place. I can just wipe it clean. I also will be placing inspiration underneath the plexi-glass, photos, drawings, notes, etc.
Love, Love, LOVE it! Can't wait to see your first art project that comes from the beautiful room. At least all the whites match :) Miss you tons!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Nick!!! So excited for you Laura! Now you can craft till your hearts content!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome, you did such a great job and have a fabulous job to play :)
ReplyDeleteXOXO
coach outlet
ReplyDeleteprada handbags
adidas trainers uk
ralph lauren polo
pandora charms
louis vuitton handbags
louis vuitton handbags
coach outlet store online
coach handbags
michael kors handbags
2017.1.20xukaimin