New desks

DD265

Like many people, OH and I are both working from home full time. We were already planning on getting new desks when we decorate the room as an office, but they don't necessarily come cheap. Has anybody had success either making their own desk, or adding legs to something like a worktop? Any recommendations?

We either want L/corner desks, or to have a surface on the wall perpendicular to us, so would make that to match. We won't be getting new desk tops from IKEA as they aren't strong enough to support monitor arms and we are fairly set on getting those.

doningtonphil

Ikea and other places sell legs of various material (chrome etc).  Screwing 4 of those to the bottom of a length of kitchen worktop means you can have a desk any length you want (x 600mm deep) and at a height that suits you

getmore4less

Look for a proper second hand desk there are loads out there, think about storage as well. 

If working from home is going to be long term your company should provide a quality desk and chair.

DD265

doningtonphil said:

Ikea and other places sell legs of various material (chrome etc).  Screwing 4 of those to the bottom of a length of kitchen worktop means you can have a desk any length you want (x 600mm deep) and at a height that suits you

We've got 2 or 4 legs already, then a set of Alex drawers and two Alex cupboards supporting our current desks. I think we'd replace the legs with something more attractive, but will probably re-use the drawers and cupboards, which are 58cm deep so ideal under a 60cm worktop.

getmore4less said:

Look for a proper second hand desk there are loads out there, think about storage as well. 

If working from home is going to be long term your company should provide a quality desk and chair.

I am keeping an eye out, but nothing grabs so far. Most of them are either like we already have (i.e. from IKEA and not strong enough) or 'proper office' desks, which don't make good use of the space we have. We've already got very good chairs, and the desks I could potentially get from work aren't a good fit which is a shame as I think the company is looking to offload a few!

neilmcl

Have a look around for office furniture suppliers in your area. I have one near me that not only sell new stock but also sell on refurbished and used/liquated office furniture. I have a very good second-hand office chair from them. 

Also try https://www.ryman.co.uk/furniture-storage/desks

Emmia

I've got a desk made of formica topped ply with hairpin legs - pretty robust and attractive (well I think so anyway!) and a doddle to assemble. I used the Hairpin leg company, who also sell the legs alone in a range of colours if you wanted to get a custom top.

https://www.thehairpinlegcompany.co.uk/collections/desks-tables?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtsv7BRCmARIsANu-CQf5MjEmfn2Y9z-MSGEQ-O9HHkaNCzDLL5Ok9zPPAqOhWKEJHL0VICQaApDmEALw_wcB

I'll admit I could have got a cheaper desk from IKEA etc. but the desk is in our living room so I wanted something that would fit with the decor there. 

Otherwise Etsy is a good resource for desk/table legs in various styles, many of which will work with worktop.

DD265

Emmia said:

I've got a desk made of formica topped ply with hairpin legs - pretty robust and attractive (well I think so anyway!) and a doddle to assemble. I used the Hairpin leg company, who also sell the legs alone in a range of colours if you wanted to get a custom top.

https://www.thehairpinlegcompany.co.uk/collections/desks-tables?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtsv7BRCmARIsANu-CQf5MjEmfn2Y9z-MSGEQ-O9HHkaNCzDLL5Ok9zPPAqOhWKEJHL0VICQaApDmEALw_wcB

I'll admit I could have got a cheaper desk from IKEA etc. but the desk is in our living room so I wanted something that would fit with the decor there. 

Otherwise Etsy is a good resource for desk/table legs in various styles, many of which will work with worktop.

They've got a great selection and seem like reasonable prices, thanks for the recommendation.

We've got a lot of IKEA furniture and it's done it's job brilliantly (some of it surviving two moves) but now that we own our house, we're happy to invest in exactly what we want knowing that we aren't moving any time soon.

Homer_home

DD265 said:

doningtonphil said:

Ikea and other places sell legs of various material (chrome etc).  Screwing 4 of those to the bottom of a length of kitchen worktop means you can have a desk any length you want (x 600mm deep) and at a height that suits you

We've got 2 or 4 legs already, then a set of Alex drawers and two Alex cupboards supporting our current desks. I think we'd replace the legs with something more attractive, but will probably re-use the drawers and cupboards, which are 58cm deep so ideal under a 60cm worktop.

getmore4less said:

Look for a proper second hand desk there are loads out there, think about storage as well. 

If working from home is going to be long term your company should provide a quality desk and chair.

I am keeping an eye out, but nothing grabs so far. Most of them are either like we already have (i.e. from IKEA and not strong enough) or 'proper office' desks, which don't make good use of the space we have. We've already got very good chairs, and the desks I could potentially get from work aren't a good fit which is a shame as I think the company is looking to offload a few!

Can't those desks be adapted to suit? All depends on your DIY skills of course but it would be free!

Scaffold boards make excellent desks and tables and can be got cheap too but again depends on your skill level 

DD265

Homer_home said:

Can't those desks be adapted to suit? All depends on your DIY skills of course but it would be free!

Scaffold boards make excellent desks and tables and can be got cheap too but again depends on your skill level 

I think if they were solid wood, I could chop them, sand them, fit new legs etc and make them fit the space. Unfortunately they're laminated and we're DIY novices, so I think the end result would be disappointing.

Scaffold boards are an interesting idea, though I've only ever seen adverts for new ones - I wanted some for a project in the garden. Still, they may price up cheaper than buying worktops even brand new and we know they'd be strong, so I'll have a look.

Emmia

DD265 said:

Homer_home said:

Can't those desks be adapted to suit? All depends on your DIY skills of course but it would be free!

Scaffold boards make excellent desks and tables and can be got cheap too but again depends on your skill level 

I think if they were solid wood, I could chop them, sand them, fit new legs etc and make them fit the space. Unfortunately they're laminated and we're DIY novices, so I think the end result would be disappointing.

Scaffold boards are an interesting idea, though I've only ever seen adverts for new ones - I wanted some for a project in the garden. Still, they may price up cheaper than buying worktops even brand new and we know they'd be strong, so I'll have a look.

Scaffold boards might be quite rough though, so you could need to spend time sanding to get a smooth splinter free finish.

ouraggie

https://www.homebase.co.uk/our-range/storage-and-home/furniture/office-furniture/office-storage

Saw the above idea on Homebase website t'other day. Am going to investigate the desk idea for our home office.