Our bedroom has this odd nook that is quite deep and narrow. Although it’s a strange size, I was weirdly excited when I first saw it, knowing that I could create something great in that small space.
I would have loved to create a little reading nook, but to do it right I would have wanted to create a built-in bench and all kinds of nook-y cuteness; and since we rent, that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, I originally opted to put my sewing corner here; and it actually worked quite well for such a task. It was a little tiny, but doable.
After a few months of doing my day-to-day computer work in our basement, I decided that just wasn’t working out. It’s dark and cold and not really a place where I felt creativity flowing (since I could barely see my screen). It may also have something to do with the fact that I am pregnant (i.e. weird and hormonal) and I have super-human smelling capabilities… and I swore to my husband over and the over that the basement smelled weird and made me nauseous.
Anyway, I mentioned to him one day that I might like to put a desk in the bedroom nook and move my sewing stuff to the basement, and he encouraged the idea – so I ran with it. I mean, really. I figured out what I wanted and built it that weekend. Nothing sits in my creative brain for long.
My original plan was to create this desk that I had pinned long ago from Martha Stewart, modified slightly to fit my space. I’m a sucker for the industrial look and Martha gave me all the plans, so I thought it would be a cinch. So off to Home Depot we trotted (I dragged the Mr. along for moral support). We purchased the plywood for the desktop and shelf, but when we began looking at the piping… holy crap. Do you know how expensive steel piping is?
It didn’t take me long to decided that that was not a viable option. I knew that Ikea sold table legs and I had some in mind that I had seen and liked, so I decided to go with that instead of the piping. But I couldn’t figure out what to use to create the height for the shelf where my monitor would sit. I toyed with the idea of using the piping for just the shelf, but the price was coming in close to $45, which I felt was way too high.
So after coming home and doing some research, I found some desk brackets at Ikea that would work perfectly (and they were only $5 a piece). Ikea came through in a major way; I love how it turned out! Perhaps even better than Martha’s design (sorry Martha).
Here’s how it all came together:
DIY plywood desk with shelf
Materials:
- One 4×8 foot sheet of oak plywood, 3/4 inch thick ($48, home depot)
- 2 sawhorses
- Wood glue (I used Gorilla Glue)
- Sandpaper
- 4 C clamps
- Wood stain (optional)
- 4 table legs (mine are from Ikea, KRILLE leg with locking casters $12.50 each)
- 2 shelf brackets (Ikea, EKBY TÖRE bracket for tabletop $5 each)
Instructions
- Have Home Depot cut your plywood sheet to desired size – you need two cuts of equal size, because you will be glueing them together to make a thick desktop. You need one additional cut for the shelf. My desktop is 39″ x 31″ (2 pieces) and my shelf is 39″ x 11″ (1 piece).
- Place one piece of plywood on sawhorses, good side down. Squeeze zig zags of glue all over surface, then skim to create a thin, consistent layer on entire surface.
- Stack your second piece of plywood on top, good side up, making sure all edges align.
- Clamp together corners of plywood with C clamps. Place small pieces of wood where clamps meet plywood to protect surface. Place stacks of books or something heavy on rest of tabletop to evenly weigh down. Let dry overnight.
- Sand exposed edges of desktop until smooth and free of dried glue. Sand shelf edges.
- Optional: stain all pieces.
- Optional: Using a drill and proper attachment, drill hole for computer cords in back/center of desktop.
- Attach table legs to underside of desktop.
- Attach shelf using instructions that came with brackets.
The entire process took a few days (since we had to wait for the glue and stain to dry), and was really simple. The desk is nice and deep so I have lots of room for all my junk, plus the shelf gives me some extra square footage for storing items I don’t use all the time. At times, I can have my laptop, monitor and drawing pad all taking up space at once, so it’s nice to be able to fit it all without feeling cramped!
I am loving working in the bedroom right by a window so I don’t feel like I’m stuck down in a cave. And best of all – there’s no weird smell!