DIY Network

Doorway Desk A desk is made from old doors. From "From Junky to Funky" episode DFJF-305

Host Samantha Gleisten helps a college graduate find a way to organize his work in a small space by using old wooden doors to create a corner desk.

advertisement

Materials:

salvaged doors
corner table
rope lights
puck lights
electric box/wiring
dimmer switches
primer
paint
wood putty
sandpaper
screws
wood scraps
oil soap
rags
chop saw
jigsaw
power drill
contour tool
compass
pencil
string

1. Prepare the doors, and then dismantle the corner table.

2. Unscrew all pocket screws holding the table together except for the skirt of the bottom shelf.

3. Clean the doors with oil soap, and then lightly sand where any knob plate residue may have been.

4. Lay one door on a low table and the other on top of it. Put pieces of 1/2 inch plywood in between them so they are held 1/2 inch apart. Line up all sides using a speed square.

5. Screw the door hinges onto the outside edges, holding the two doors together.

6. Open the doors to form a right angle (figure A), and then slide the detached bottom shelf of the corner table so that the skirt slips over the top of the doors. Pre-drill and tack screw into place.

7. Cut four 1-1/2" x 3/4" strips out of wood scraps, and then stain to match the doors.

8. Pre-drill and screw one of these support strips to each door horizontally (figure B), so that the desktop can rest on it just underneath the doorknob plates.

Figure A

Figure B

9. Pre-drill and screw the other strips into the doors on either side about halfway between the desktop and the top shelf.

10. Pre-drill 1/8 inch holes through the font of each door at the height of the desktop and middle shelf. Later, screws will go through the back of the doors and into the shelves.

11. Measure 13 inches from the corner of the middle shelf, and then mark on one side.

12. Using a compass, draw an arc on the shelf starting from the 13 inch mark. Cut the shelf at this line using a jig saw.

Tip: Use a contour tool to transfer the shape of the doors' routed frames to the corners of the middle shelf. Cut out with a jigsaw or band saw, and then make adjustments as needed.

13. Prepare and paint the shelves by sanding and applying wood putty to the three shelves as needed.

14. Prime and paint the tops and bottoms of the shelves.

15. Rest the desktop and middle shelf on the corresponding shelf supports (figure C), and then screw in from behind the doors into the sides of the shelves. Remove the top shelf/cap to begin lighting.

16. Create dimmable lighting on the top shelf and behind the doors.

17. Remove the door knobs and hardware. Mark and cut out a space on each door for the dimmer switches using a drill and jigsaw (figure D).

Figure C

Figure D

18. Set the dimmer switches into the openings, and then wire and mount flexible rope lights on the back of the doors (figure E).

19. Mount three puck lights under the outer rim of the upper shelf/cap of the desk (figure F). Run the wire down the back of the door to the other dimmer switch.

Figure E

Figure F

20. Reattach the doorknob plates making any modifications needed to fit, and then replace the dimmer switch knobs with actual doorknobs.

21. Screw the top shelf/cap to the doors through the previously pre-drilled holes.

Project Cost:

Doors: Free
End table: Free
Lighting, wood, materials: $52

Total: $52