DIY Framing Wood Corner Desk

Hi there. I’m Trey, the manager of the ad program, and I’m going to show you how I built a desk for my new office at A Beautiful Mess. Yes, that Trey. Yes, I work for my girlfriend. Yes, I know all the reasons that could be really scary/insane, but—sorry to disappoint—no horror stories (yet). It’s surreal how cool it’s been. But we’ll get into that another time. Today, desk. I’ve spent most of my career working for larger ad agencies, which were awesome, but I was used to a very predetermined office situation: “You’ll get this chair, this desk, this notepad, and this computer. You're welcome.” So I was pretty pumped I got to start from scratch—literally. Emma and I share a love for raw and simple furniture (BONUS: It’s way easier to make), so the supplies here are as straight-forward as the design: 40’ of 2x6 framing wood cut into 8 – 5’ pieces (be choosey with your wood—try to avoid the weird, warbly pieces, as that will be so annoying later), 4’ 1x2 oak piece, 4 – 2.5’ mending plates (1/8” thick), 48 – 1" screws (I used Phillips round-pan-headed screws, but it’s up to you), 10 – 2" traditional wood screws, 4 – 3-rod 28” hairpin legs, a pint of low gloss polyurethane, sanding block, power drill, skill saw, measuring tape, wood glue (optional) and a pen/pencil.

First, line up 4 pieces of the 5’ framing wood side-by-side—you can add wood glue between the boards if you want, but it’s not necessary. Place two mending plates* about 2 feet from either edge, so they should be about 1 foot apart. Screw your mending plates to the wood with the 1" screws. Flip over and secure two more mending plates to the other side in the same fashion (if you don’t like the industrial-meets-medieval look of the mending plates, you could just buy more oak and secure it from the bottom to have a clean wooden top). Repeat this process for the remaining 4 pieces of 5’ wood, and you should now have two secured surfaces of your corner desk.   

*I chose the mending plates with the most holes, because I knew I was opting for a thinner plate (liked the look). So I wanted the most opportunities to secure it. But you could definitely make this work with a more traditional mending plate. Next, you’ll need to measure the width of one of your surfaces. Four 2x6s next to each other usually adds up to 22” or so, but measure to be sure.* Mark a notch the measurement of the width (probably 22”) from edge of the surface along the length. Connect the notch to the opposing corner with your pen, and this should create your 45° angle. Saw along the line. Repeat this process with the other surface.

*Fun fact: A 2x6 is not actually 2” by 6” when you buy it from the store. That’s the measurement of what they cut from the log while it’s still wet. After the drying process, it usually reduces in size by about a 1/2". Might be obvious to some of you, but I learned that the hard way a few years ago. Arrange your surfaces into the corner desk shape and then decide which side you want to be the bottom. That should be the side facing up. Cut your 4’ piece of oak into 2 pieces: 2.5’ and 1.5’.  Screw the two pieces of oak, using the 2" screws, at the crease of the corner to secure the two surfaces together (I also added a piece of scrap wood from my sawing to make it extra secure). Position and screw in your 4 hairpin legs.* Then, sand out the rough spots, and seal it with a coat or two of polyurethane. BOOM, you’re done!

*You'll notice the hairpin legs shown are 2-rod, not 3. After testing out the 2-rod for about a week, it just wasn't sturdy enough, so I swapped it out for the 3. Much, much better.My work is primarily paperless, so I don't need drawers or anything. I just wanted something minimal with enough space to spread out, but I didn't want to pay a fortune for it. I'm pretty satisfied with the result. My office is also the ABM brainstorm room, so my desk backs into the beginnings of our inspiration wall that we all add to. Yeah, it’s not the manliest scenery, but I work for A Beautiful Mess. What do you expect, Call of Duty screenshots? Nah, this is way prettier. Besides it only took a month of working here, researching sponsors and whatnot, before Google determined I was a 25-34-year-old lady. Whatever, Google. I have a beard. Seriously, my job is pretty sweet. --Trey

Comments

[Jenna]

This is such a creative space! It's really neat that Trey and Emma get to work together :)

[Yelle]

Awesome! I would totally be into having this at my home office because I don't need any drawers there either!

[Nic from Thriving Wives]

Nice, I am dying to create my own office space one day. That last pic with your pooch is just adorable!!

Strive to Thrive,
Nic
www.Thriving-Wives.com

[Ang]

Neat! It'd be cool to know what your expense was to make a project ...(:

[irene wibowo]

nice. i like the desk.. :)
http://lovesimplegreen.blogspot.com/

[Mariah]

Geeze google. the man has a beard.

Cool desk. sometimes I forget that furniture doesn't have to be super difficult.

[Chris]

And here's a set of shelves to go with it! Banded together in a similar manner:

http://www.simplifiedbuilding.com/blog/diy-entertainment-center-with-bookshelves/

[Lenusik]

cool idea!
Lenusik ♥ ♥ ♥ With love ♥ ♥ ♥
Velvetrose

[Rachel]

I am in need of a good work space/desk, so I am super pumped over this one!

[Sarah]

Love this! The directions sound really complicated but looking at the photos the design seems simple :) will defs get the hubby to look at this :) thanks so much for sharing!

[rachael]

i want to do this! also, nice to meet you trey! write more posts! :)

[Jenna]

awwwwwww! sweetest post ever! and cool desk!

[Tiff]

Trey--you sound adorable! So glad Emma found you.

Also, the desk=awesome.

[laura meitzler]

sweet work space! i love how simple it is added with ABM brainstorming walls of inspiration. it's pretty cool to get a point of view from a male at abm! love it :D

[Chelsea Elizabeth]

Love this! The pictures are awesome!!

<3Chelsea Elizabeth

[Jamie]

ummm. this is awesome!

[Kylie]

I've been looking for something just like that EVERYWHERE! Thank you so much!
Check out my blog: http://thechicstreetblog.blogspot.com/

[Aly B]

Trey needs to do more guest posts!

[Molly]

such a awesome desk love the retro wallpaper

[sarah]

That's a great, simple idea! When I move into my next apartment I am definitely going to try it instead of trying to move my current desk!

http://owleyevintage.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/OwlEyeVintage