Building a desk my girlfriend can stand: Can I do it?

bryguy894

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Jun 20, 2009
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My situation: I want a "U" (or, more realistically due to space restriction, an "L") desk in my (bigger) half of the "office" in the condo my girlfriend and I are getting. I don't like my corner desk that has my back to everything else, etc etc.

I googled and found some people made their own modular desks by clamping together nice card tables, etc, and I was considering doing something like that.

Or, I could go find a desk that suits my needs on Craigslist or something.

The kicker is that [strike]my gf will not allow me[/strike]I am a powerful man with a powerful need for style and I don't want to fashion together my own desk if it is an "eyesore." :non:

I'm wondering if any of you have experience or knowledge in (cheap) desk building that actually looks nice. Or maybe even a resource for real desks at a sweet price.

I appreciate any ideas! :bounce:
 
The kicker is that my gf will not allow meI am a powerful man with a powerful need for style and I don't want to fashion together my own desk if it is an "eyesore."

haha, i see what you did there.
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i have a 7 foot long desk that used to be a "clothing display table" at a local retail chain. its wood veneer with some sort of brown stain to it. the only thing i had to do to make it look presentable was put a new formica top on it (like $30) which only required glue, some sort of cutting device and a router. though if you dont have a router you can probably figure out another way. actually it is quite presentable for its cost.

building a desk really isnt that hard if you wanted to. just get a sheet of plywood, cut it to the size you want and in the shape you want. put a thicker board along the outer bottom edge so the desk appears to have thickness. buy some premade desk legs or make your own, place & brace them into the corners. if required add any other bracing/support as required. for a finished surface you can either stain it (if using the nicer plywood) or formica it if using some rather knarly stuff. you could probably build something decently presentable for $100 or so if you have tools.

craigslist might have something, or you could check local furniture auctions. if you have a really low budget then used is your market. you can always get a desk where all you need to do is refinish the top or do some minor repair.