What‌ ‌you‌ ‌need‌ ‌to‌ ‌make‌ ‌a‌ ‌DIY‌ ‌table‌ or desk ‌for‌ study‌ing ‌

Building a table for studying is not as difficult as it may seem. All you need are a few tools, some decent wood and determination. Here’s how to do a DIY desk at home.

A study desk is where any student spends most of their time outside of school. It is the place where we read, write papers, search for essay examples, and procrastinate. Hence, having a comfortable, appealing, and inviting table for the study is important. And what can be a better way to have all of that if not to make it yourself? Here’s what you need to make a DIY desk.

Educate yourself

If you’ve never tried building furniture on your own, in particular a table or desk, you should start by watching some DIY tutorials. Read guides and watch videos of people who are ready to share their wisdom with you. Educating yourself should be your first step to making a DIY table. Also, even if you have built some items previously, watching some tutorials can give you new ideas and inspire you to new creations.

Whilst videos can inspire you don’t underestimate a good 3D rendering, some plans and a cutting list as you will likely need all of these things before you get started.

Consider the area

Once you have decided to build your own table, consider where it will stand. Find a perfect place for it and fashion it for the given environment. Therefore, you need to take measurements. Take into account the style of your future desks, the materials you are planning on using, and the desired dimensions of your desk.

If the area where you want to have your desk doesn’t allow you a traditional study desk, you can think of alternatives, like a floating desk, a smaller laptop desk, or a different shape. Also, don’t forget to include the space needed for your chair in your measurements. Once you have the sizes of your future project, you can move on to its implementation.

Pick all the tools and materials

Whilst drawing up your plans you will have likely already used a ruler, pencil, and notebook. Well, for the following steps, you need the material of your choice, most likely wood, some wood glue and some screws. You can use a miter or circular saw to cut your wood to length. It doesn’t matter much. All you need to do at this stage is to ensure clean cuts of the desired sizes. You’ll also need high-grit sandpaper, wood glue, clamps, and paint for the top part of your desk.

You have several options when it comes to the bottom of your desk. First, you can use premade table legs from a marketplace like Etsy or Ebay. Those legs are usually made of metal. They often come with everything you need to assemble them, including screws and screw holes made in the legs. Store-bought desk legs come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, so you can have fun with them in the process.

Your other option is to make legs out of wood. Here, you’ll also need a drill and screws to assemble your desk.

Start to assemble

For the desktop, you need several wood boards. The wider the better but ensure you cut them with a saw to the sizes you have planned. Once you have the boards of the right size, sand them with sandpaper. Start with a coarse grit like 80 and work your way up to at least 240. This will give you a nicer texture and prepare wood for the coats of paint, varnish or oil.

Once the wood is ready, it’s time to join your boards together. Most often, you can use special wood glue to keep the board together. Use clamps to really press the boards against each other. Repeat this work until all your boards are in place. Watch out for any excess glue on the boards. You need to wipe that off once you see it. Next, wait till the glue is dry and coat your desktop with your choice of finish. you’ll likely need a couple of coats and will need to allow to dry for 2-3 hours in-between coats.

Only after the finish is dry can you move on to the desk legs. If you have store-bought legs, you just need to pre-drill holes in your desktop and assemble the table. If you are making wood legs on your own, start with cutting six pieces of wood. Four boards should be of the desired length of your desk when two others should support your desktop underneath it. The support boards must be as wide as the desktop minus the width of the legs.

Final touches

Organise everything on your newly made desk up to your liking. Remember that a study place must always be clean and have no distractions. Bring all your study materials to your new desk and pick a perfect chair for yourself. That’s it! You can go now and do your homework! Enjoy the studying experience at your new DIY desk.