Thinking of designing and creating my own desk.

[aevitas]

Hello,


So me and my girlfriend are buying a house. It still has to be build, so we have about 8 months to go which is perfect so we can slowly buy things we still need and get prepared.

Now I've come to the realisation that my current desk will stay here as it's not mine, it's my sisters. I have come across this idea before, but for the sake of maybe learning something and having a desk designed just for me I'd really like to create my own.

The only problem is, I'm glad I can hang up a picture on the wall or do such minor things. When it really comes to creating something out of wood I have no experience. I'm also not very good at drawing it and the whole thing would likely collapse once I've build it as I'm not sure what kind of support it would need. I still want to try it though, for the sake of learning something but I do want to do it right in one go.

I'd like to know a few things:

- I have the 'map' from the house and how big everything will be. Is it plausible to design and create the desk before getting the house or is it really best to wait for it to finish so I can see with my own eyes how much space I've got left? The desk will most likely be in the bed room, I know how big that is and I know the size of my bed so I can pretty much see what space I would have left.

- How on earth do I start to draw something like this? Of course I have a general idea of what I want, the desk would also serve the purpose of 'try to hold as much stuff on it as possible without making it a kingsize desk'. I've started drawing like 20 times just to find out I'm not really going anywhere.

- How do I know what kind of screws/materials I need and what kind of wood for example? I'm not even sure if it will be wood as I have no knowledge on building things...

- Will this end up cheaper than buying some pre-made desk and extending said desk for my needs? I've looked at some desks a few months ago at Ikea, one Galant desk caught my eye but it cost freaking 280 euros for nothing but a simple desk. Really overpriced in my opinion.

Well these are the questions so far, I really hope there are some smart people here that know this kind of stuff. I'm usually the type of guy who just goes to Ikea for example to buy stuff, but as this is for my brand new home I really want to build something myself so I can finally say I created something and also it's just so I don't have to keep figuring out how to manage my space on my desk.


Thanks in advance!

[Piglord]

Something like this is dependent on what exactly you want and how many tools you already own. A "kitchen table" type desk (square top with four legs) might be possible to build if you have a drill and can get your lumber yard to cut the wood down for you for probably 100 euros or so. If you're wanting a simple oak executive type desk then you're looking at minimum around 1000 euros to build it yourself if you don't have any tools.

[Krasuss]

I had the same dilema one year ago, i had plan to build my own desk for 2 computers, blueprints were done and all that, but when ive counted prices of all the materials i needed + the work which had to be done ive just scraped the idea and bought 2 Ikea tables(similar to Galant but quite cheaper, sadly cant find that one on ikea eshop anymore for some reason). The price of the mats in my case was same even bit higher then Ikea table and even tho i work with wood every day in work and have access to CNC machine there, ive decided it will be better to buy the desk to save my precious free time(it was during vacation so who would like to be at work )

tbh in your case when you have no idea how to build one, i would say it will be better to either buy the cheapest suitable desk somewhere or find proffesional carpenter who will build one for your needs. I cant tell if the material prices where you live will be as high as here in czech but i think they will.

If you still want to build a simple desk its not that hard, all you need is to measure the basic measures(width, height and lenght) buy appropriate wooden desk(i bet you can get this in any home depo store they will cut it for you) and the right ammount of legs if its longer you need 6 to support the middle of the table (these things are expensive).

anyways GL

[Deleted]

I have done almost the same here. I did design my own but had a pro build it for me cause it would be too much for me to do (talking about a huge 2 seater desk). I would reckon you wait for the house to be ready and then take measurements of how big you can make it etc. What i generally found out tho is that unless you are building something weirdly shaped or something different that you can't find around it could cost as much by just buying it. That is if you have pro getting everything together, which i would reckon unless it just a common desk with a top and 4 legs

[aevitas]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I'll look into it and see how/when I'll do it. Just threw away another drawing, that stuff is just not for me...

[Djinni]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I'll look into it and see how/when I'll do it. Just threw away another drawing, that stuff is just not for me...

Personally, I'd take a look through some auction catalogs and base your design off something in one of those that you like.

I find that the "4 legs" approach is not a particularly good way to go. And using a Drawer stand as the desk leg enhances rigidity and gives you a huge amount of storage space. + If you do it right, the drawers won't need runners or anything like that because the wood would be sanded down and smooth, you can just run your drawer straight in and out of it.

[nbm02ss]

I'm actually just putting the finishing touches on my L-shaped desk I built. Just in raw materials alone I've spent about $250 bucks. As far as what type of wood goes, you ideally want something hard as the softer woods, like pine, scratch easily. You could also just get some veneered plywood.