This is one of my favorite last-minute DIYs ever. We made a DIY desk for 17.00 dollars and a few hours of our time, and I love how it turned out!

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A Desk for the new Airbnb

We have been working on the new Airbnb renovation for a while now. The Primary bedroom space was carved out of the previous extra-large living space. Once we had settled on the room plan, we still had this weird jut out from the closet in the room next door. It seemed like such a waste of space, until I realized it was the perfect corner for a built-in desk. Yay! I could fit in a mini home office.

So I went in search of a unique desk that was substantial enough for Airbnb guests and yet attractive.

The space is quite wide (67 inches), and a large desk that size was very expensive, and I could not find anything that would fit the vibe I was going for.

Then, one day, we were at Restore (a local thrift store) in our area looking for picture frames (they always have great frames) and came across this hollow-core door. I had no idea what kind of wood type it is and it was a bit beat up on one side, but it was not too bad for an old door. And the best part…it was only $8.00! For that price, it was worth taking it home to see if it would work.

Supplies Needed for a DIY Door Desk

• Door- ours is 36 x 7 feet
• 8 ft piece of moulding
• 1- 1 x 2 wood board
• Pneumatic nail gun
• Stud Finder- This is the best stud finder we have ever had.
• wood glue/construction adhesive
• paint
• painters tape
• caulk

DIY Desk Directions

We cut the desk down to fit the space using a circular saw.

We then cut the 1 x 2 board into two pieces, each 36 inches, to act as the base for the door to lay on. These are screwed into the wall, and we made sure to find studs, so it won’t be going anywhere.

I was surprised at how well it fit.

A good idea was to tape off the edges of the desk while attaching it to the wall to prevent scuffs in the fresh paint on the walls.

I needed to figure out how to cover up where hinges had been on the sides of the door, then I remembered some extra wood and molding we found at Home Depot a year or so ago in the clearance aisle as it had been cut wrong. I found the perfect trim piece in the pile (yay, for hubby never throwing anything away!). We then cut the 3-inch trim moulding to fit the door and give the desk a more polished feel.

We attached the moulding to the desk using a bead of wood glue and pneumatic nails to hold it until the glue dried.

Once the moulding was attached, we waited for 24 hours to paint. At this point, I was considering adding a glass top to the desk top. In the end, the local glass company didn’t have a piece large enough on hand without a special order, so I’ve decided to wait and see what I think.

The back of the desk has a hole where the doorknob should be. Which is going to be perfect for charging cords and such.

Painting the desk

If you follow the blog, you guys know I am a HUGE fan of Sherwin-Williams paint. I LOVE their colors, and I love the performance of their Emerald line of paint.

But if you have been to a paint store lately, you may have noticed some shortages. My SW store did not have any quart sizes available, which is all this door was going to require. So we went to our local big box store and had them color-match a quart to our trim, which is SW 9130 Evergreen Fog. It is a satin finish.

I am so happy to report it matches perfectly!

With all the bargains we found, the DIY desk added up to a total cost of $17.00 and change! I can see all kinds of places this would work. Maybe a smaller version tucked away in a closet? It makes a unique desk, and I think you could even add table legs for an entirely different look.

And we LOVE it!!! This 17-dollar DIY desk may be one of my favorite DIY projects ever!

The new desk is a hit! We’ve added a secondary coffee station for our guests, which they love, and last week, we had a guest rave in a review about having a workspace in the Airbnb.

What do you think??

Want to see more DIYs making something new again? My friends Brook from Cribbs Style and Jen at Noting Grace are sharing great tutorials of their very own projects today, and you will love them!

Until next time,

-Libbie

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