DIY your home office or ‘school’ desk

When kids go back to school, a desk helps keep their minds on their studies. Or maybe you need a desk for a home office. The great thing about desks is that with all the varied rolling cabinets or drawers, in a snap you can put a desk together that looks great, stays organized and is easy on your pocketbook.

Door desk

If you have an old door, give it a coat of paint or cover it with adhesive paper in a fun and funky style. Lay the door across two sets of office drawers from your local office center, and you have a desk in a jiffy. If the door has a knob, simply remove the knob and voila! You have an instant cable hole to keep those cords organized. Antique doors are a great option because of their architectural features. To retain those features and make your work surface smooth, have a piece of glass cut to fit over the top.

Sawhorse desk

Another option for creating a desk is to use sawhorses from your local home center as supports for the desk top. Doing this will create an industrial style look, but it doesn’t offer much storage. Top with a door or glass desk top, available at stores like Ikea or your local glass shop. For a vintage look, seek out old wooden sawhorses at garage and tag sales. Repaint the horses, and you’ve got an old-school look that will fit any size desk top you need.

Countertop desk

Look through rummage sites to find an old countertop. Once they have been re-covered in marble adhesive paper and propped up with pale gray painted file cabinets, you’ll have a desk that’s stylish and comes together quickly. Or, check your local home center for countertop material that can be cut to fit the size you need.

Make sure that if you cut the countertop material to tape off the area to be cut with masking tape so the finish is smooth, or talk to your local home center about the best way to cut and size. Another stylish option is to search your local granite or stone yards for leftover pieces that can be repurposed as a stone-topped desk. Check that you have sturdy supports to hold up the weight of the stone.

(For more information, contact Kathryn Weber through her website, www.redlotusletter.com.)

(c) 2018 KATHRYN WEBER. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.