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I told you in the Desk Roundup Post that I’ve had desks on the brain lately.  Here’s the first project I wanted to show you.  The basement in our new house is half finished space, half storage – which means the kids have claimed this as their official playroom.  Translation: it’s a dumping ground and always a complete disaster.  This room still needs a lot of work – but one thing my kids requested was a big desk.  We have this back wall that was just a big open space, and I thought the perfect space for a built-in desk.  One for play-dough and crafts now, and a homework station as they get older.  

The only problem with a wall this size (about 14′ long) is that supplies for a desk this large are expensive!! Then I remembered our local recycle/home supply store had hollow core doors for just $5 each, and I thought I could probably work with them!

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Supplies for a DIY Built-In Desk

The first thing you’ll do is space out your cabinets evenly along the wall.  Measure the space between the cabinets and cut the doors. I made these the depth of the filing cabinets. 

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

I wanted the seams of the doors to be resting on top of the cabinets so it would have proper support. I didn’t feel the need to screw the top down to the bases, but you certainly could at this point if necessary.  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

Here the seam is very visible, however once everything is stained, I didn’t notice the seams at all.  You could also place a small piece of wood trim here as a desk divider.  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

A couple of my cabinets were a bit shorter than others, so I added a scrap piece of wood underneath the desk top on the shorter cabinets. 

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

Using a bead of wood glue and screws, attach a 1×3 to the underside of the desk top – this will make a trim piece and hide any shims you use.  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

At this point, I also trimmed out the cabinets to make them look less like a filing cabinet.  I glued and nailed (with my brad nailer) trim pieces right to the metal. I was also able to attach my new hardware directly to the wood pieces.  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

Once the desk is all built, it’s time to make it pretty!!  I chose to use General Finishes Espresso Wood Stain – I love the dark wood top, and this dark stain makes everything look fancier than it actually is! I applied it with a sponge. 

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

Once the stain is dry, I applied 3 coats of High Performance Top Coat in the Flat finish.  I used a Purdy XL Cub to apply it, and it goes on nice and smooth.  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

The bases were painted all black (General Finishes Milk Paint sticks to wood AND metal), and the end is in sight!

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

Each kid gets their own cork board to decorate/hang art as they please.  I still need to find 3 matching chairs, but for now they use chairs we already had.  They love the space!! And let me tell you, it will never be this clean again.  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

The supplies and pieces for this build came in right under $75!  To cover a 14′ space – that’s not a bad price at all!! 

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild  https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/diydeskbuild

There you have it – a BIG desk perfect for kids for under $75.  That’s a DIY project success!! 

Until next time, 

Jenni