Build a wood L-shaped desk for under $50

Yes, you can build a beautiful wood L-shaped desk for under $50 or as little as $75. How? With hollow core doors from your local home store. I got lucky because my local Home Depot was clearancing out these doors so I walked out spending $19.99 each for the 2 hollow core doors that had no pre-drilled holes for the handles.

I felt ecstatic to find what I was looking for after hunting at retailers and thrift stores for a wood L-shaped desk for my husband’s new office makeover. Most wooden L shaped desks were over $250 and some as high as $1500! Plus I knew the size and amount of windows and doors in the room limited my choices on desk designs.

So I am a ‘think outside the box’ kind of gal. I love creating and building and so I knew I wanted to build a desk for him. Despite my husband’s whining that his old office was okay, I told him that I could not stand his office any longer. It was cluttered, ugly, and a mix of stuff that I did not want in the rest of the house. Even though I do not ‘match’ furniture or pieces, his office was a room I hated to go in. It took me a month and a trip to Home Depot for inspiration (once again) and a walk to the back of the store to see the yellow clearance tag and the (2) 24″ doors just waiting for me to buy.

Hubby liked the burnt orange color of the former media room which made the makeover a bit easier. Orange is a cheerful color and has positive qualities such as happiness and intellect which I thought would work for hubby’s home office. I refer to Feng Shui or the art of using color, placement, and energy in a room to help me bring a room together. This room inspired me to build a L-shaped desk that faced the door (from the hallway) and a view of the 2 windows and door to the attic. It is important (in Feng Shui) never to have your back to a door or window. This room took me a month to transform because I had to remind myself this is his office and it took that long for hubby to agree.

The estimated time it would take to build this desk would be about an hour for the cutting and assembly and a week for it to dry/cure. It took me 2 days to create and assemble because the idea did not completely reveal itself until the next day when I could not figure out what to do for a leg. Yes, I had cut one of the doors and there was a piece leftover but it did not dawn on me until the next morning when the extra piece tripped me as I was getting my tools out to start working.The light went on and I realized that the sleek modern look I was going for would be accomplished with the rest of the door. Duh, why did it take me a day to realize this? (because I overthink it sometimes)

So here is a list of what you may need to re-create the L-shaped desk:

2 hollow core doors (note: if there are holes pre-drilled for door handles, then use those holes for computer wires) 1 door is left whole
2nd door is cut at 29″ for leg (which is the height of the filing cabinet)
2nd door is cut at 42″
a 2″ x 2″ x 8′ for a cleat,
about (6) 3″+ screws to anchor to wall,
Kreg Jig and screws or 4 small 1-2″ L shape & 4 flat 2-3″ brackets to assemble the doors together,
a bit of stain,
fine sand paper and tack cloth (or a really soft rag to wipe dust off)
about a pint of polyurethane,
level,
circular saw,
tape measure

In my workshop/garage I had most of the stuff I needed so my cost was around $42 to build this beautiful wood L-shaped desk. I have to warn you that if you are obsessive about matching, this may not work for you. Why? because the wood grain on the doors may not match in the L-shaped pattern plus staining I found that the doors did not stain the same dark tone. (I used a walnut stain I had).

I love the richness of walnut stain and I feel that the dark stain will blend in the other furniture and office accessories that do not match. There is no rule of thumb that states every furniture piece has to match. Go with what you have and if something does not look right, walk around your house and look for something that will. Sometimes that is what I do and my example of ‘shopping’ in my own home was using the canvass horse picture from my bedroon (which I never really liked in there). The horse canvass now really pops in the room.

I hope I inspired you with my hubby’s home office makeover. I estimated the $50 project if you have most of the things already in your garage or workshop. Otherwise if you did not have the doors, brackets, cleat, screws, polyurethane, & stain it would be under $100. Being a one of a kind desk made with love and creativity- priceless.

Creating. Inspiring. Gardening without the rules!

Below is a picture tutorial of how I created the desk:

1st day I cut the door at 42″. Here I measure and make my guide so I can cut a straight line

Important to have the right blade or you will rip and shred the delicate wood of the hollow core door

Notice the insides of the hollow core door. this is important when attaching the desk to each other

I have a Kreg Jig so I decided to use it to attach the top to each other. I used 4 Kreg Jig screws (note the end of the door will have more support)

I joined the uncut ends of doors together because there is a solid piece of wood. I would use 4 small 1″ brackets to join the top and I used 4 Kreg Jig screws to join my top

Hollow core doors usually have wood support on outside edges. this is where you want to attach your L-shaped brackets or use the Kreg Jig to attach the leg to the underside

I did Kreg Jig on both sides. If you use L-shaped brackets I would do both sides for support

I knew the filing cabinet was 29″ so the cleat had to be level and the doors to set on top at 29″

Studfinders are great to have. they are less than $15 and will save you on anchors, holes, and other troubles

I have a lazer level but a 2′ or longer level will do to make sure you are level before anchoring with your 3″+ screws (I ended up using 3 screws on the long side and 2 on the short side