Building A Farmhouse Office Desk - Plus How To Hide The Cords!

This desk is massive!! But perfect!!

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Every time I walk by our office, I want to go in there and work!  Crazy, right?!  But seriously, it's so inviting now.

I love how bright and spacious it feels.  Hubs and I even got to work together at our new desk this weekend.  It was great!

This beast is 10 feet long and 30 inches wide.  The two desk chairs fit perfectly side by side with plenty of wiggle room. 😊

For this desk, I purchased 4 - 1x8x10.  I tried to find the straightest and prettiest boards.  That's not an easy job!

I worked at laying them different ways and in different directions trying to find the best fit possible.  Next, I numbered them, then marked them with an arrow.  That way I knew which direction to lay them, and it wouldn't matter if I mixed them up.

Flipping them over, I began to mark where I would Kreg-Jig them together.  Basically, I duplicated the same method we used when we built our coffee table.

Here you can see, where I did the pocket holes (Kreg-Jig).  I spaced them about every 12-16 inches.  I wanted this desk to be as seamless and sturdy as possible.

Then I built a 'frame' on the underside, to keep the desk from warping and to give it strength.  I had a 2x2 for the back of the frame, then a 1x2 for the front.  Then I placed a support at each end and one in the middle.

The pieces of scrap near my hands, were to give the front 1x2 something to nail into.  I didn't want nail holes on the top of my desk.  So, I glued and nailed the scraps in place and then nailed the front 1x2, to the scrap pieces. 👍

I had two Alex file cabinets from IKEA, that were going to be the end supports.  I wanted the desk to fit perfectly on top of these cabinets.  The cabinets were 14¼" wide.  So, I measured and placed 1x2's 14¼" apart at each end.  The photo above doesn't have the last end support attached yet.

You can actually barely see that board attached in the photo below.  Here, I was getting ready to attach a power strip to the underside of the desk.... more on that later....

When I finished building the desk, I sanded this baby super smooth!!  Making sure that any boards that didn't match up just perfectly, became smooth across the desk.  I used my favorite Dewalt Orbital sander, with 120 grit sand paper at first, then 220 sand paper.

Before I go into the staining and sealing stage, I want to show you a clever way to hide computer cords and even an external hard drive.  Build a shelf underneath the desk, towards the back.  It will hide all of it!

Of course, I used scrap we had in the garage.  I used a 1x4 for the long part of the shelf (that will face the front) along with 1x4 side supports.  Then I nailed a piece of shiplap to the 1x4's also adding a center support leg. Voile'! done!  And its all hidden!! You can't even see the shelf at all!! You'd have to be sitting on the floor to see it. 😍

I can't stand cords showing, so if there is a way to hide them, I WILL!!

The computer cord will come down into that shelf and plug into the power strip, keeping all the cords contained inside the shelf!  The power strip plugs into an outlet right behind the file cabinet supporting the desk on the end.  It couldn't have worked out more perfect!!

I was torn whether to stain the desk a bit darker, like we did in the living room makeover, or to go lighter and more natural.

I considered just sealing it without staining it, but I wasn't sure if it would pull some of the yellow out of the wood... which I don't like.  So, I decided to try a stain color I've never used before.  I wasn't sure it would even make a difference, since it was so light, but it DID!

This is 2 out of 4 boards stained with Minwax Pickled Oak.  Whoa!  I really didn't think it would be that noticeable, but it definitely is!  It looks more like the wood was bleached, which is exactly what I wanted!! Yay! 🙌

Here is the desk fully stained.  Next, I sealed it with my favorite, Varathane Matte Sealer.  It came out gorgeous!!

We could not be happier! We love it!

Btw... the desk fit perfectly over each file cabinet.  It is not attached to them.  So, if we need to take it off or slide it forward to access the back, it's super easy.

I did make a mistake.... I forgot to attach the front piece at the end on it's side, so it wasn't as 'thick' as the center space between the cabinets.  So, I just added another block of wood to mimic the same thickness.  It's fine... no one will know, unless I point it out to them.

I also attached a center leg in the back, underneath the desk, to support the weight of the computer.

I love the keyboard mat, it just keeps the desk clean and neat looking.  The farmhouse lights are perfect!  Now, I can't wait to finish what's going on the wall between the lights! 💕

Oh! The rug was purchased at Overstock.com. We weren't going to have a rug at first, but the casters on the chairs would have made marks on our hardwoods.  But now I love having the rug!!

Pin for later - Office Inspiration!

Blessings!