diy farmhouse office desk tutorial

Hey friends! This tutorial has been a long time coming! I’m so excited finally be able to tell you about our super easy DIY office desk! We made it out out of two file cabinets, two pieces of wood, and some brackets!


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diy farmhouse office desk

WHAT YOU NEED:

  • Two file cabinets – we used these from Wayfair and I painted them with Fusion Mineral Paint in Bayberry and spray painted the handles in gold
  • Two 1″x12″x10′ common pine boards cut to size (our wall was almost exactly 10′ so I just had to shave off about an inch and it fit perfectly)
  • 180 grit sandpaper
  • Heavy duty 12″ metal brackets
  • Combination wrench set
  • Stain of your choice (we used English Chestnut from Minwax; I also love Dark Walnut & Early American by Varathane)
  • Matte Polycrylic
  • Hole saw drill attachment
  • Stud finder
  • 5″ bolts (we used 8)
  • 1″ screws
  • Power drill
  • Level
  • Thin piece of cardstock

HOW TO:

  1. Sand and stain your boards. Seal them with 1-2 coats of Matte Polycrylic.
  2. Place your file cabinets on opposite ends of your wall space.  Lay your two stained and sealed wood boards out on top of your cabinets (if you purchase these exact cabinets, there will be about 2″ of space behind your cabinets if you make the front of the desk flush with the front of your cabinets; don’t worry about this – it’s not noticable and is a great place to hide cords).diy office desk
  3. Decide where you want the holes for your cords (we have 5 – one at either end, one in the middle, and one each in between). Mark where you’ve chosen, and use your hole saw drill attachment to drill holes into the back board for your cords. I intentionally cut only half holes by placing the head of the drill as close to the edge of the board as possible.
  4. Sand your hole cut and stain the raw wood area you just exposed.
  5. Move both boards back into place. Make sure your boards are level.  If not, you can place a shim underneath one or both boards and on top of either file cabinet to help level. You’ll be able to remove the shims later, as the file cabinets are not actually what are supporting your desk – rather, the brackets are.
  6. Use your stud finder to mark where your studs are in your wall. You might have to play around with bracket location here.  Initially I planned for 3 brackets, but there was not a stud in the middle of our wall.  So we chose 4 brackets instead, with two brackets straddling the middle of the wall, and two on either end on the inside of each file cabinet.  The brackets should be placed with the 12″ side facing your boards and the shorter side on the wall. This way, the very end of each bracket can grab the second board.  Otherwise, the second board will not have support.diy office desk tutorial
  7. Once you’ve located your studs, hold up your bracket and mark where your bolts will go into the wall (2 per bracket).
  8. Drill a pilot hole for each hole.
  9. Once the pilot holes are drilled, you will use a wrench from your wrench set (that matches the size of your bolt head) to screw the bolt into the wall/stud.  This takes some elbow grease, but it’s what makes your desk super sturdy!farmhouse office desk tutorial diy
  10. Repeat for all brackets, making sure that when you mark your holes, the brackets are supporting the wood, but not pushing them upwards.
  11. Once all of your brackets are screwed into the wall, it’s time to anchor them into the wood boards with your short 1″ screws. Be sure these screws have a large enough head to catch the bracket.
  12. Use a thin piece of cardstock in between your two boards as you screw the top of the brackets into the boards. Wood will expand and contract with temperature, so you want to have a very slight space between your boards so they are able to do that without any issues.
    PRO TIP: Having an extra set of hands to hold your boards steady as you screw the top part of the bracket into the boards is very helpful here!
  13. Repeat until all of your brackets have been screwed into both boards.
  14. And that’s it! You’re DIY office desk is complete! Enjoy!
farmhouse office space with diy office desk
diy office desk in farmhouse syle home office with carolina dog sitting in front on a buffalo check rug

This is such an easy and affordable way to get a 100% customized desk for your exact space! It’s so wonderful to have a space where both hubby AND I can work together, too!

Would you consider building a DIY office desk for your home?  Let me know below!


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And as always, if you loved this tutorial, please Pin It to share with your friends!

Happy DIYing! Until next time…

XO,

Ana

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