I needed a new desk and wanted to build my own so I picked up some 3/4" mahogany plywood and mahogany rough-cut 2x4s from a local exotic wood lumber store and got to work. It cost around $150 and they did most of the major cuts for me.
The problem was that I was a bit short on floor space in my office and I also had one of those wide, shallow closets with the folding doors that I hate. So I decided to build a desk closet. Problems solved!
Step one: Take off those stupid doors and the track across the top. I also removed the skirting boards on the inside so that I wouldn't have to do any weird cuts around them.
Step two: Frame the desk with 2x4s across the back and sides. (details in photo below)
Step three: Cut the corners out of the plywood. I used a circular saw and then finished the corners with a coping saw.
In addition to the mahogany 2x4s underneath I decided to run a piece of Superstrut across the front to add rigidity and support while keeping a low profile and doubling as a mounting point for anything that I decide to attach to the bottom of the desk in the future. I had to go to a shop for this. I borrowed a miter saw with a metal-cutting blade, a drill press, and a tap and die kit to cut the strut to size and then drill and tap holes to mount brackets to the ends.
I attached the desk top to the frame with corner brackets, but my cuts were so tight that it probably wasn't necessary. I like to overbuild.
Two coats of Watco teak oil really brought out a nice color and grain in the top.
The closet looked awful and I had scraped up the walls a lot trying to get the desk top in so I painted. I went with Sherwin Williams Cashmere and painted the top a flat extra white because I didn't want it to be too dark (or look any smaller than it already is), but I also didn't want glossy reflections from the computer screens. I painted the bottom section flat black because I thought it would look cool.
I also filled in the 1/8th" gap around the edges of the desk top with a little wood putty.
Now where am I going to put the computer tower? I don't want to put it under the desk where it will collect dust and get kicked, but it's a full tower case and I don't want it taking up the whole desk either. Solution: put it on a shelf. I used some of the leftover mahogany plywood (there was a lot left over) and some heavy duty brackets from Home Depot.
I positioned it so that if the tower tips forward for some reason, the top of the case will hit the top of the door frame and the corner brackets (mounted to the front edge of the shelf) prevent the bottom from sliding off the shelf. Probably not an issue, but the last thing that I want is an enormous computer tower crashing down on my monitors.
Testing to make sure that everything fits.
The 3/4" mahogany veneer that I ordered finally arrived. The raw plywood edges of the desk and shelf looked terrible. I used a pre-glued, iron-on veneer and it was super easy to put on. It does help to have two people when doing this though because you'll need to use a roller to press the veneer firmly on while it's still hot.
