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Hi Workshop Community,
My partner and I have recently purchased and moved into our first house. Frequency rate of 'trips to Bunnings' has exploded, and it's great to make a home your own.
Our new property has more space for a home office setup, and one of my first projects to complete was a home office desk.
Previously I had been working from the dining room table, and for the first few days my setup consisted of IKEA outdoor timber furniture (not ergonomically friendly).
To build this desk, I purchased:
- Solid hardwood birch timber panel, (2200mm x 600mm x 26mm)
- Rapidmesh Cusco (X-shaped) furniture legs (RapidMesh 70 x 73.2 x 6cm Black Cusco Steel Tube Table Furniture Leg - Bunnings Australia) and leg braces
- Screws, sandpaper, varnish and other bits and pieces
After decided which side of the timber I preferred as the top side, I measured and drilled the furniture leg and braces in place. Equal space from each edge of the timber and evenly centred along the 600mm depth of the table were the important considerations here.
A couple of runs of 120 grit sand paper to soften the top and sides and damp cloth to clean off any dust.
Once that dried, a matt finish Cabots Cabothane (Cabot's 250ml Clear Water Based Cabothane Interior Varnish Matt - Bunnings Australia) applied with a brush brought out the great natural colours.
And last, a LIFX light strip around the back edge for some added detail (LIFX Smart Lightstrip Colour Zones Starter Kit 1m - Bunnings Australia).
I enquired through a number of furniture makers for something of similar size and look to what I made. Prices were anywhere between $1200 - $1700. Total shopping list for this desk was between $325 - $375, and completed over a weekend (between many other projects).
Enjoy!
Hi @Simon
Thank you for sharing your new home office desk. It looks awesome, the LIFX Smart Lightstrip Colour Zones Starter Kit 2m really takes it to the next level. The different colour hues just automatically changes the atmosphere around the table. I'm sure your new office desk is a lot more comfortable than your folding picnic tables. That matt finish was an excellent choice as you don't get any harsh reflections from the LED lighting system.
Again, thank you so much for sharing such a great home office desk project.
Eric
Congratulations on the purchase of your first home, @Simon. What an exhilarating time this must be for you! I'm sure that list of to-dos keeps on growing. Remember, we're here to help if you ever need any assistance on a project.
The grain on the Birch panel is just sensational and is highlighted exceptionally well with the matt Cabothane. I love your addition of backlighting too. No doubt your setup will be the highlight of the next online meeting.
Many thanks for sharing your desk project. They're always exceptionally popular on Workshop, and I trust yours will be yet another valuable piece of inspiration for our members.
Well done!
Mitchell
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @KristyM1. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about this wonderful project.
Let me mention @Simon so they are alerted to your question. Hopefully, they'll be able to provide some insight into their project.
The only thing I can think of is that they potentially have the legs protruding slightly from the rear of the table. Although he says, they were evenly centred, which I'd have thought would leave 5cm exposed on either side.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
