Boyfriend and I moved in together in August of 2011 (and now I'm back with my parents because of unpaid internships - bleh), which was great,
except I left my purpose built desk attached to the wall at my parents'
house. (I regret that I don't have a picture of it, it was the pinnacle of what IKEA can do for people).
I struggled
to find a desk big enough to accommodate two computers and my desire to
spread out. The desks available were TINY compared to what I was used
to. I considered a dining table, which would be the perfect size,
however anything even slightly attractive on the market was out of my
price range.
Just as I was about to give up, I was inspired by a post by the amazing Nina over at stylizimo.com. She is an amazing bloggess who not only has impeccable style but complements that with beautiful photography.
Nina wrote a blog post about a DIY dining room table that she made for her home. This table was perfect for what I needed. I could make it as big as I
wanted (within reason, of course) and I wouldn't have to compromise on
looks!
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| Dining table perfectly made and styled by Nina Holst. |
First, Boyfriend and I made a trip to Ikea. From there, we
purchased legs from the Vika range. Together they were (from memory)
about $100. They are identical to the legs pictured below.
Ikea has a wide range of styles available, and for $100 I'd rather buy them than try to replicate the look myself!
Then, a trip to Bunnings was in order. I picked the wood that I liked, in the length and width that I liked. Go nuts here! You don't want your table to be too long however, since the pine is quite thin and without support in the middle you could be running the risk of the table bowing in the middle. My desk is relatively long (about 2 metres), and I have not yet noticed any bowing. But time will tell.
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| I pondered over my planks of wood for about 30 minutes in Bunnings. Each piece was carefully selected for its character. Boyfriend humoured me during this process but it was completely necessary. |
I was lucky in that the planks of wood were the exact length I wanted. No scary power tools needed here!
In addition to the planks of wood to form the top of the table, I purchased 3 small pieces of wood (I found mine in a scraps bin) that would run underneath the table to fasten the planks together. These planks should be just shorter than the width your table will be when finished.
Boyfriend, who is the self-proclaimed 'one with all the common sense' in our relationship, had originally
insisted that the boards be screwed onto the scrap wood downward because it would result in a more functional and structurally sound desk. Pfft... functionality? Structural integrity? I don't want to see the heads of screws from the top of my desk!
So I made him screw up through the scrap wood into the planks. For peace of mind, we also fastened the scrap wood to the planks with liquid nails.
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| For various reasons we won't go into now, Boyfriend doesn't let me touch power tools. When he's around, anyway. |
Boyfriend then disassembled the IKEA legs, and screwed the desk top to the legs. I was at work when he did this, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures.
Then, we sanded the wood down so that it was smooth. I don't know much about sandpaper, and neither does Boyfriend, so we just picked a coarse one and then a softer one for finishing the wood.
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| Oh and lucky you, you get to see our BEAUTIFUL garage! |
Once the table was sanded, we began applying the stain. I opted for a grey driftwood stain, after contemplating white for a while. Boyfriend (or shall we dub him 'Common Sense Man'?) pointed out that with my talent for spilling things, anything I spend a lot of time using shouldn't be white.
So we began applying the stain. All up, the table got 3 coats, and is quite dark, though you can still see the wood through it. The darkness of your stain is, of course, a personal taste thing.
And voila! Once your desk is dry, it's ready for use!
Legs - $100
Wood - $37
Stain - ~$10
Screws/liquid nails/sandpaper - ~$20
TOTAL COST: ~$167
And of course I have to show you how my new desk looks in my house! I want to apologise in advance for the dark, grainy photos. My desk is in front of the window, so its quite difficult to take a picture with the light shining in. Also, they were taken with my iPhone (shh..).
Clockwise from top left:
1. My desk area in my bedroom at my parents' house. The metallic silver-blue wall is something I painted when I was 15. In the right light it's silver, but in direct sunlight it is a gross baby-blue colour that I never wanted. My chair is from ikea, with an ikea sheepskin rug thrown over it. It is super comfortable, and held onto the chair by a small nail that can be easily removed.
The white shelf on my desk is from Ikea - I used it to create some extra height and storage.
2. A picture of my german shepherd puppy, Wolfe, and an Ikea vase with fake flowers that Boyfriend bought me one day when I was sad.
3. My coloured pencils are currently displayed in a tealight candle holder. I hope to find some cool ceramics at a thrift store soon to use as vases and displays for various items.
4. My favourite book, picked up from a thrift store for $3 'Lawyers'. It is so old it actually contains a section entitled 'Women in the profession'. Oh how times have changed... On top of it is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, a Lifeline book fair find for $2.50.
5. Bob, my only surviving plant. He self-waters, as there is a container under him full of water. I only have to fill it occasionally, usually when I remember he exists! I believe Bob is a symbol of my ability to have house plants, and he encourages me daily to get more plants.
6. The white containers used to go in my kitchen to store flour and rice. Now they're displayed on my shelf (because I don't have a kitchen at the moment), and are holding jellybeans. The books are mostly Lifeline book fair finds, at $2.50 each. I love classic literature, and it reads even better when it's hard back, gilded and smells old.
Well there you have it! My beautiful new desk, not entirely done justice by my rubbish photography. Have you tried any new DIY projects recently?
