DIY Pine Desk

This project took some trial and error but was totally worth it.  Here is our cluttery dismal starting point.

The loft area in our home houses the office as well as the playroom, and it needs a major overhaul. So I wanted to combine all those elements into one smooth desk area. 

We had two cheap laminate desks that were clogging the space, and inbetween them was a filing cabinet we had gotten for free from my husbands work that was basically just being used as dumping grounds for odds and ends. 

So, I came up with an idea after seeing this awesome desk.  I loved it and it sounded pretty easy to do (me feeling hopeful!)  

Via Little House Blog

I talk my husband into it and we head to Home Depot

Supplies Needed:

• 3 pine boards cut to length you choose.
• trim pieces (1.5 x 3/4 in size, come in 8 foot long pieces)
• wood pegs, screws, wood glue, stain and stainable wood filler
• power saw, sawhorses, hand sander, drill, paintbrush, tape measure, large clamps (dont skip these)  and handy significant other
• something to support the desk. (We made 2 white cupboards for either end from white particle board found at the store, and then we had an old filing cabinet we had gotten for free as our third support post)

Free Super Heavy Filing Cabinet

End Support

Please excuse my most basic knowledge of tools and techniques, as I attempt to explain how we put this together.


Step 1: Pick out 3 finished pine boards from hardware store.  Have them cut the board to the length you want (I think our desk was about 11 feet long) Make sure to look around and buy boards that are priced per board, NOT BY the FOOT!
***The one thing we should have done but did not was to lay down all the pine boards on the ground at the store to make sure they lined up as straight as possible.  We had a terrible time later on getting them to come together because one board was slightly bowed.** 
Also buy trim pieces, and white particle board for cabinets underneath.

Step 2: Lay out 3 pine boards on sawhorses in working area.  My husband pre-drilled in between
the boards and added pegs to fit the boards together.


We used wood glue and clamps (very important these clamps.  A few other tutorials I read said they just 'placed' the boards together, one even said they used string to tie the boards together while the glue was setting.  YEAH RIGHT!)  We really had to use the clamps to force the boards together and for them to be flush, and let it set overnight. 

We also reinforced the wood with these scrap pieces, drilling them in on the bottom of the desk.

Step 3: My husband also cut smaller trim pieces to fit around the entire desk for added strength and to improve the look of the desk.

Step 4: We then used wood filler for any gaps, and then sanded...and sanded...and sanded... until it was about as even as we could manage.

I then stained it with one coat of dark wood stain, then a coat of polycryclic.

Step 5:  We hauled this upstairs into our loft and office area and set it on our filing cabinet and 2 cupboard stands my husband had drilled together using particle board.  He made a shelf in each one also.  He then drilled down from the plank desk into the cupboards to stabilize the whole thing. The trim piece he added makes a nice overhang on the front of the desk.

He had measured before to make sure that the desk would be centered and fit on our 3 supports perfectly. And to make sure that we would have enough 'leg room' for each computer chair.  The measurements came out to be such that our desk was 11ft long, and 22 inches deep.  The cabinets were 20 wide inches across, 28 inches tall, 24 inches deep. The filing cabinet was 3 feet long and same heighth and depth as the cabinets.  Then there were 27 inches across of leg space for each desk area.

Step 6:  Cover up the holes with filler and stain where we drilled from the top desktop into the cabinet with screws. (We have yet to do that) Add computers, desk stuff, and make it work!  Baskets, organizers etc. So far we really like it, and have plenty of storage in the cabinets.  This one project was quite a test of our patience, so we need a rest for now.  But we did it!  Blood sweat and tears. And we love it!