I wanted to create a space in the living room that was multifunctional and practical for our life.
My kids are homeschooled, and the dining room table was working overtime.
Also, when you're dealing with teens, sometimes they want to be near each other and sometimes they just need their space.
We had an empty space on the side of the fireplace that was calling our attention.
As you can see, this area is as plain as it could be. But instead of slapping a piece of furniture there, or two chairs and a side table. I wanted to make it make sense.
So, we built a desk for less than $100 dollars. Here's how we did it.
Wood Cuts and Measurements
I measured my space and decided I wanted to make this process as easy as possible. I measured 78 inches for the length across the back wall of the area and 19 inches for the width.
I didn't want it to stick out too far because I wanted to still allow the area to serve as extra seating for guests.
I decided on the kind of wood and the stain that would give a look we wanted.
I went with pine, it's a bit pricey, but the finish is beautiful. I ended up paying about $70 dollars for all the wood.
I purchased 2 pieces of 2x3x8ft and one piece I cut to fit the space across the back wall to nail to the studs.
The other 2x3 I cut into 17-inch pieces to support the desk.
This is how that turned out. Not bad for first-time builders.
Putting It All Together
Once we had the support, we cut and simply squeezed it into the wall and nailed it to the studs.
Once we had this piece solid on the wall, we could lay the pine on top. This was so easy and turned out to be my favorite process.
Houston, we have a desk. I love the color that came from mixing the two stains.
I purchased three pieces of pine wood to give the width I wanted and stained them using expresso, then chased it with a reddish stain and poly.
Once we had the desktop secured with wood glue and nails, we could put it all together.
I found these cute chairs on Amazon that made a statement no matter which way you turned them.
Turn the chairs one way, and you have a desk area, turn the chairs the other way, and you have a seating area for guests.
Multipurpose space!
Major Take Away
Getting what you want while living frugally is the best feeling in the world. Normally a pine desk would have cost me about $500 or more.
I was able to make this desk for about $70. I saved about $400 on this DIY project. I would call this another successful frugal find.