We are a young couple remodeling our first house...one outdated / ugly thing at a time. This blog documents our remodel projects and ideas.
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11.18.2010

Build a Desk Workshop

I need a desk...one that will fit in limited space. I want a sawhorse desk...one that will fit in limited space. (Those two requirements don't jive well with each other.) After some Internet shopping, I realized that I could get a sawhorse desk that would fit. Yay! But I also realized that I would have to pay much more than I am willing. Wa-wah. Scratch buying a desk the easy way...enter building a desk the easy way.

What do you see? A bar stool on its last leg in a flea market? Not me...I see desk legs. And I can picture a desk using these bar stools as desk legs...something along the lines of this:
Nice, huh? And a nice price tag - on sale for $299!  Bummer.  Not to worry, I'll build a sawhorse-esque desk with two cheap (as in $12 for the pair) bar stools using the picture for inspiration.

On the way home from the flea market with the bar stools, aka soon-to-be-repurposed-desk-legs, I stop by the hardware store for a pre-cut tabletop...to the tune of 15 bucks.

Once home, I lay the tabletop on the ground and position the bar stools seat-down towards the ends of the top, making sure they aren't visible. I also check to make sure my chair will fit in the space, which it will.  Draw a circle around the bar stools to outline their proper placement.

Pre-drill screw holes into the bar stools so they won't crack when they are screwed to the tabletop. Before final placing the bar stools, use some wood glue (I love gorilla glue) on the seats for extra holding power. Place the seats in the circles and screw the bar stools into the tabletop - I used 5 screws per barstool.

Flip it over and you've got yourself a desk...although probably on the ugly side since the legs and tabletop totally don't go together. Better give it a coat of primer and paint.

Project cost breakdown:
Bar stools/desk legs      $12
Tabletop                        $15
Paint/Screws/Glue         $0 - already owned
Total                             $27



Not too shabby for $27...and a savings of about $270!! When time avails, I'll build shelves for the legs to make it look more like the inspiration photo, and post about that too.
Inspiration photo:http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/new-logan-sawhorse-desk

13 comments:

Lisa said...

That looks fantastic! Great idea.

Unknown said...

That is genius. I love the look. How clever you are.

Twigs and Twirls said...

Thanks for the inspiration for this, I so need a desk and have no budget for one. I am definately going to keep my eyes out for some inexpensive stools !!! LOVE it !!

Lori O said...

I love, love, love this! You could totally put small boards across the rungs of the stools to make some small shelves for some cute storage boxes. Love this idea. I will totally be keeping my eye out for stools now! I have the perfect spot for this.

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Anonymous said...

Love this idea! what are the measurements of the precut tabletop?

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