This tutorial might be 8 months in the making, but what’s new? I always do DIY projects and then get inspired to write about them down the road. Back when we made this table, our apartment was so poorly lit (and we didn’t have much outdoor space), I couldn’t even take a photo of the finished product without it looking really sad and unwelcoming… I took a few process photos but over time I misplaced them (here on my laptop somewhere, for sure), so unfortunately I only have the final product…
Our simple wood stained desk! I know I promised a dining table and it certainly could be one, but it’s better suited as a desk for us now. First, Kevin and I had this little dining nook, so it made sense, but when we moved we no longer have that, not to mention Kevin really needed a new desk. Anything to get his old black Ikea desk out of the picture!
The trestle legs obviously make it a way better desk anyway… We inverted them to make leg space underneath.
My favorite part of the whole thing is the stain. It was a process of aging the wood + using a very light gray with an almost blue tint stain.
Here’s a little how-to for those of you thinking of making a foray into furniture making!
DIY Wood Stained Desk // a loose tutorial
1. Choose the size of table you want and what legs you’ll be using since you’ll have to get the appropriate size wood for the legs. We went with these two Ikea trestle legs and five planks of wood.
2. Get (or cut) boards into the correct lengths. Ours were longways and when we bought them at Lowe’s we had to cut them down to be more even. Then sand each piece down.
3. On to aging. Since we didn’t buy reclaimed wood but wanted that look, we had to age the wood. Use a basic tutorial to create a stain you’ll use to age it. Ours wasn’t too bold but just right to make it look more weathered.
4. Use a wood stain to achieve the right color on the aged wood. We went with a blue-gray like this (but not as dark). Paint on each board.
5. Next is to attach each board together. There’s a couple different ways to go about this, like lining up the boards and then creating a border around the underside so it would be sturdier without doubling up the thickness of the entire table. This connected the boards pretty well, but you could also use other more sturdy methods!
6. Attach legs. Using Ikea trestle legs, you can screw them in. These ones were a little tricky so we had to open up part of the legs to get the screws to sit nicely into the wood (since that’s not usually where they go). It was a bit of trial and error but the job is done and hey, no one looks at the underside.
And there you have it! So much nicer looking than my bf’s previous desk… But still, it would be nice if there wasn’t a huge PC and a ton of cords hanging all over it now!
