DIY Craft Room Desk Christine April 25, 2013 Furniture, Office Accessories, Organization, Tutorial Aaahhh yeah Operation De-Crap Room in full effect. Except one small detail. I’m moving my office out of, well, my office and moving into the dining room. If you missed the most embarrassing photo I’ve ever shown then you’ll want to view it here. I know, I know. What kind of crazy transforms a dining room into a crap craft room? My kind of crazy that’s who. 😉 Here’s the scoop. Big Daddy and I aren’t “Jeeves can you bring us our hamburgers into the dining room” kind of people. We also don’t have family in the area so no need for the big holiday table. When we moved in I knew we weren’t going to use the dining room as a dining room so I dubbed it the “coffee shop”. I envisioned a library-esque with comfy club chairs kind of room. However, since we moved in I’ve made no progress in that room. Enter my big idea. I decided to move out and into the dining room and allow Big Daddy to move out of the back office and into my office. Then we would convert the back office into a dedicated guest room. Make sense? Big Daddy’s office is in the back of the house and even with two windows it’s a bit dim. While my office on the other hand is in the front and has one very large window. My office is cheery and bright and his is more ’bout to get down with my bad self in this dimly lit martini bar. What’s with all these references anyways? We don’t drink martinis or coffee. Literary license I suppose. I originally bought these two white cabinets (along with a bookshelf) for 50 bones last year off of Craigslist. I loved the clean white look and the simple modern lines. These beauties have been playing musical chairs cabinets all over my house. And every time I thought it would work in the space, it just didn’t. One of my last ideas was to place a 8ft long board on top of each cabinet to create a pretty craft desk. Each cabinet is 33″H x 30″W x 17″D. Even though the depth of my cabinets isn’t a lot, it’s plenty big enough for me to get crafty. The process is pretty simple. I decided I wanted the entire unit to span the length of the wall which is about 8ft. Big Daddy and I went to Home Depot and found a white melamine predrilled shelf (I think they use these to build closet shelves) that was 1″ x 16″ x 8′. Perfect! But what wasn’t so perfect was that white top. I wanted something a bit rustic to balance out the modern design of the cabinets. Of course, Big Daddy and I discussed the possibility of using several pine boards and attaching them to each other as a table top but in the end I didn’t have the clamps needed and we didn’t want to spend more money. The big clamps are really expensive! Big Daddy was/is ultra worried about the middle sagging which is another reason he wanted to use one strong board. After a little pouting I finally conceded. But I wasn’t going down without a fight Plan B. To get the wood top I was looking for I headed over to the tongue and groove pine wood paneling and found something similar to this. A pack included 6, 8ft. boards that were unfinished and ready to be stained. I used the same process and the same Dark Walnut stain as I did in my DIY Sofa Table. I bought a tube of Heavy Duty Adhesive or Liquids Nails and a caulking gun and went to town. You’ll have about 10 minutes to adjust before it begins it’s heavy duty adhesive thang. This part was a bit tricky because I had to center the boards but I also had to make sure their tongue and grooves were snug. You’ll need access to a few very heavy objects that you can weigh down the pine boards overnight. We still need to drill the top into the the cabinets and I need to find trim to fit around the top but it looks good and it’s already functional. Super groovy. Budget Break Down: 1 8ft. Melamine Board-$25 1 Pk. Pine Tongue and Groove Paneling-$16 Liquid Nails-$2 Caulk Gun-$5 Stain and Poly-$0 (had it on hand) 2 Base Cabinets-$16 (had it on hand from previous purchase) I’m calling this project at $48 bucks. Definitely more than I wanted to spend but still not bad when you’re talking about an 8ft craft desk with storage. So, what do you think is Operation De-Crap Room getting the job done? If you have organizational tips for the office lay it on me! 54 Responses Jaclyn B April 26, 2013 I LOVE it! I’ve seen that type of setup a couple of times and I am green with envy…maybe one day! Love the blue chair and curtains too! Reply ccleahy April 26, 2013 Hey Jackie!!! I was just thinking about you! Thanks for the compliments. I’m kinda in love with it too 🙂 The blue chair is from TJ Maxx…one of my rare full retail (but on clearance) purchases and the curtains are just drop cloths that I stenciled. I wrote about it here http://www.letsgetcrafty.org/stenciled-drop-cloth-curtains/ Reply Vel Criste April 28, 2013 more than wnat you wanted to spend? wow, this desk looks and feels WAY MORe than $48!! Great job Christine! If you see my craft room ,it has a desk built in it already, looking at this makes me wanna wish it didn’t!!! Thanks for sharing! Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks Vel! I guess I’m a cheapy, LOL! Reply Franki April 29, 2013 I dream of having a space like this. As it is my ‘craft room’ currently consists of a corner of our living room and the lower half of the wardrobe in the spare room! Gorgeous desk, I love the dark stained wood with the white. Really fresh. Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks Franki! Reply the cape on the corner April 29, 2013 looks great so far! i love the coffee house idea. Reply Jill April 30, 2013 I love the way this looks and that fabric on the chair is fantastic! I’m buying myself a condo pretty soon, and my second bedroom will be a craftroom! 🙂 I’m pinning this for sure!! Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Don’t you just love the possibilites of moving into a new place?! Good luck with your move! Thanks for stopping by! Reply Diane Piwowarczyk April 30, 2013 Looking good. Can’t wait to see the whole room completed. Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks Diane! I can’t wait either! lol! Reply Marty Oravetz April 30, 2013 Love, love, love this. How perfect and it looks fabulous. Thanks so much for joining Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks Marty!!! Reply sweet violets April 30, 2013 This is a great idea and will work well for you!!! I love changing rooms to suit your needs, this is perfect!! You can buy that same malamine board, put brackets on it and mount on the wall above for a shelf……add baskets to hold supplies, so it doesn’t look messy………..I moved myself to a small back bedroom and use the master bedroom as my craft/sewing studio….why not??? Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 That’s awesome Sweet! Your craft/sewing studio must be awesome! If you want, send me a pic. It would be fun to feature others and their crafty space! Reply Jenny from DIYwithjenandb April 30, 2013 That is nice! You did a great job, I love that stained wood with the white! I wish I had some extra space to make one of these!! Pinning this for sure. Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks Jenny! I know I’m a lucky girl! 😉 Reply Angela April 30, 2013 Want! I love the way it turned out especially for the price tag. Reply Ellya Brill April 30, 2013 This is really pretty and clever. Love that blue chair! I am pinning it. Thanks for sharing. Ellya http://curiositaellya.blogspot.com/ Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks Ellya! Reply Sheena Anderson May 1, 2013 I am loving the cabinets. Great storage!! My husband built me a desk last year for my craft room but I am lacking on storage. Right now I have plastic drawers under it for storage. The desk is really deep though so they are hard to get to since they are pushed all the way back to the wall. Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 I’m working on the right storage bins to be placed in the cabinets…I want something pretty but practical….always a tough job! Reply Jamie May 2, 2013 Wow, this looks great! What a fantastic idea! Jamie @ somuchbetterwithage.com Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks Jamie!!! Reply Heather Stewart McCurdy May 2, 2013 This looks fantastic!! We just moved into a new place and I am on the lookout for building an inexpensive and storage friendly desk. Way cool!! New follower from Design Décor 🙂 Heather M, http://www.RockStew.com Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Yay! Thanks Heather! I’m so excited that you’re here to stay! 🙂 Reply Kristen Rosecrans May 2, 2013 i LOVE this! I would be sooooo happy working in this office. very inspiring space! Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Kristen….it’s amazing how great you feel in a space you feel great about! I still have a lot to do but I’m excited about the progress! Reply Jacqueline Benotti May 3, 2013 Your desk you made looks gorgeous! Like a very high end built in. Thanks for visiting Simple Home Life and leaving a comment! Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks for the desk love Jacqueline! Reply Judy Ainger May 3, 2013 Oh My Gosh…your desk looks AMAZING! Love how it turned out, it was worth the effort. I had to go view your most embarrassing photo too. lol I missed that earlier post! Have a wonderful weekend! ~ Judy @ Vintage Street Designs Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Judy, thanks for the compliment! I still cringe thinking about what people must think of my housekeeping abilities! Reply Deborah Smith May 4, 2013 That is one awesome stretch of desktop! Love the way it turned out. Thank you for sharing it at What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a great weekend! Hugs, Deborah Reply Jei Crochet May 5, 2013 I love this Idea!! I am looking for a cheap craft table that is cheap. Thank you for sharing this. CuteyPatutyCrochet Reply Jei Crochet May 5, 2013 Found your link at bewitch and titi link party. Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Jei, thank you so much for stopping by! Laura @ The Experimental Home May 7, 2013 I love your new desk! It totally looks like a built-in. I hope that it is home to many wonderful future creative endeavors! Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks Laura! Reply Lauren May 7, 2013 I am featuring your craft room desk today on my blog. Thanks for linking up. The next link party starts in a little bit. I hope to see you again. http://www.ifitsnotbaroquedesignblog.blogspot.com/ Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Whoo Hoo! Thanks for the feature Lauren! Reply Lorie Albright May 7, 2013 I love the desk! AND the chair!! Reply ccleahy May 8, 2013 Thanks Lorie! Reply Danielle May 9, 2013 Low how the desk came out and that chair is fabulous. Reply Camila May 9, 2013 This so clever and crafty!, Love it!!! Thank you so much for Co-hosting with me Christine!!! You Rock!!! Aaaand thank you so much for stopping by and linking this up hope to have you there next Sunday with a new awesome creation! Hope you are having a lovely day Hugs Cami @ TitiCrafty by Camila Reply becolorful May 19, 2013 Smartly chic and simple. 😀 Thanks for sharing. p Reply Mylinda October 23, 2013 Where did u get your cabinets? I love this desk but I’m having a hard time finding cabinets at a reasonable price? Reply ccleahy November 3, 2013 Mylinda, I’m so sorry you’re having a hard time finding similar cabinets! I did buy the two cabinets and a white bookcase that went on top of the one cabinet off of Craigslist. This is definitely one of those projects you’ll have to be patient with. I hope you hit the Craigslist lottery soon! Send me a pic when you get your desk together, I’d love to see it! Reply Amy February 9, 2014 Before you attached the top to the cabinet- did it slide around much? We live in apartments and I would love to do this without permanently attaching the top to the cabinets for easier portability when moving etc. Or if you have any ideas on how to keep portability I’d appreciate it! It looks so awesome! Thanks. ~Amy edit: maybe velcro… or some sort of liner like the stuff that goes under rugs to stop them from sliding… hmm Reply Lisa Huff February 2, 2015 Wow that is AHHH MAZING!!! I LOVE IT and how you finished the top and that ruler trim. fabulous!!!! Thank you again Christine for linking up to the Something to Talk About Link Party and talk soon, Lisa Reply Vicki And Jennifer February 3, 2015 Man, Christine! This desk project is fabulous! You are obviously talented and uber creative! Thank you so much for linking up to Something To Talk About Link Party 🙂 Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Jaclyn B April 26, 2013 I LOVE it! I’ve seen that type of setup a couple of times and I am green with envy…maybe one day! Love the blue chair and curtains too! Reply
ccleahy April 26, 2013 Hey Jackie!!! I was just thinking about you! Thanks for the compliments. I’m kinda in love with it too 🙂 The blue chair is from TJ Maxx…one of my rare full retail (but on clearance) purchases and the curtains are just drop cloths that I stenciled. I wrote about it here http://www.letsgetcrafty.org/stenciled-drop-cloth-curtains/ Reply
Vel Criste April 28, 2013 more than wnat you wanted to spend? wow, this desk looks and feels WAY MORe than $48!! Great job Christine! If you see my craft room ,it has a desk built in it already, looking at this makes me wanna wish it didn’t!!! Thanks for sharing! Reply
Franki April 29, 2013 I dream of having a space like this. As it is my ‘craft room’ currently consists of a corner of our living room and the lower half of the wardrobe in the spare room! Gorgeous desk, I love the dark stained wood with the white. Really fresh. Reply
Jill April 30, 2013 I love the way this looks and that fabric on the chair is fantastic! I’m buying myself a condo pretty soon, and my second bedroom will be a craftroom! 🙂 I’m pinning this for sure!! Reply
ccleahy May 8, 2013 Don’t you just love the possibilites of moving into a new place?! Good luck with your move! Thanks for stopping by! Reply
Marty Oravetz April 30, 2013 Love, love, love this. How perfect and it looks fabulous. Thanks so much for joining Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty Reply
sweet violets April 30, 2013 This is a great idea and will work well for you!!! I love changing rooms to suit your needs, this is perfect!! You can buy that same malamine board, put brackets on it and mount on the wall above for a shelf……add baskets to hold supplies, so it doesn’t look messy………..I moved myself to a small back bedroom and use the master bedroom as my craft/sewing studio….why not??? Reply
ccleahy May 8, 2013 That’s awesome Sweet! Your craft/sewing studio must be awesome! If you want, send me a pic. It would be fun to feature others and their crafty space! Reply
Jenny from DIYwithjenandb April 30, 2013 That is nice! You did a great job, I love that stained wood with the white! I wish I had some extra space to make one of these!! Pinning this for sure. Reply
Ellya Brill April 30, 2013 This is really pretty and clever. Love that blue chair! I am pinning it. Thanks for sharing. Ellya http://curiositaellya.blogspot.com/ Reply
Sheena Anderson May 1, 2013 I am loving the cabinets. Great storage!! My husband built me a desk last year for my craft room but I am lacking on storage. Right now I have plastic drawers under it for storage. The desk is really deep though so they are hard to get to since they are pushed all the way back to the wall. Reply
ccleahy May 8, 2013 I’m working on the right storage bins to be placed in the cabinets…I want something pretty but practical….always a tough job! Reply
Jamie May 2, 2013 Wow, this looks great! What a fantastic idea! Jamie @ somuchbetterwithage.com Reply
Heather Stewart McCurdy May 2, 2013 This looks fantastic!! We just moved into a new place and I am on the lookout for building an inexpensive and storage friendly desk. Way cool!! New follower from Design Décor 🙂 Heather M, http://www.RockStew.com Reply
Kristen Rosecrans May 2, 2013 i LOVE this! I would be sooooo happy working in this office. very inspiring space! Reply
ccleahy May 8, 2013 Kristen….it’s amazing how great you feel in a space you feel great about! I still have a lot to do but I’m excited about the progress! Reply
Jacqueline Benotti May 3, 2013 Your desk you made looks gorgeous! Like a very high end built in. Thanks for visiting Simple Home Life and leaving a comment! Reply
Judy Ainger May 3, 2013 Oh My Gosh…your desk looks AMAZING! Love how it turned out, it was worth the effort. I had to go view your most embarrassing photo too. lol I missed that earlier post! Have a wonderful weekend! ~ Judy @ Vintage Street Designs Reply
ccleahy May 8, 2013 Judy, thanks for the compliment! I still cringe thinking about what people must think of my housekeeping abilities! Reply
Deborah Smith May 4, 2013 That is one awesome stretch of desktop! Love the way it turned out. Thank you for sharing it at What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a great weekend! Hugs, Deborah Reply
Jei Crochet May 5, 2013 I love this Idea!! I am looking for a cheap craft table that is cheap. Thank you for sharing this. CuteyPatutyCrochet Reply
Laura @ The Experimental Home May 7, 2013 I love your new desk! It totally looks like a built-in. I hope that it is home to many wonderful future creative endeavors! Reply
Lauren May 7, 2013 I am featuring your craft room desk today on my blog. Thanks for linking up. The next link party starts in a little bit. I hope to see you again. http://www.ifitsnotbaroquedesignblog.blogspot.com/ Reply
Camila May 9, 2013 This so clever and crafty!, Love it!!! Thank you so much for Co-hosting with me Christine!!! You Rock!!! Aaaand thank you so much for stopping by and linking this up hope to have you there next Sunday with a new awesome creation! Hope you are having a lovely day Hugs Cami @ TitiCrafty by Camila Reply
Mylinda October 23, 2013 Where did u get your cabinets? I love this desk but I’m having a hard time finding cabinets at a reasonable price? Reply
ccleahy November 3, 2013 Mylinda, I’m so sorry you’re having a hard time finding similar cabinets! I did buy the two cabinets and a white bookcase that went on top of the one cabinet off of Craigslist. This is definitely one of those projects you’ll have to be patient with. I hope you hit the Craigslist lottery soon! Send me a pic when you get your desk together, I’d love to see it! Reply
Amy February 9, 2014 Before you attached the top to the cabinet- did it slide around much? We live in apartments and I would love to do this without permanently attaching the top to the cabinets for easier portability when moving etc. Or if you have any ideas on how to keep portability I’d appreciate it! It looks so awesome! Thanks. ~Amy edit: maybe velcro… or some sort of liner like the stuff that goes under rugs to stop them from sliding… hmm Reply
Lisa Huff February 2, 2015 Wow that is AHHH MAZING!!! I LOVE IT and how you finished the top and that ruler trim. fabulous!!!! Thank you again Christine for linking up to the Something to Talk About Link Party and talk soon, Lisa Reply
Vicki And Jennifer February 3, 2015 Man, Christine! This desk project is fabulous! You are obviously talented and uber creative! Thank you so much for linking up to Something To Talk About Link Party 🙂 Reply