How to Make a Desk

Measure the space for your desk carefully. Premade materials are used for this project and exact measurements will save you lots of cutting work later.

Buy a flat premade door with a hard core. A hard core door is better for this project than a hollow core door since the hard core door can be cut to fit your space and legs can be attached more securely.

Buy enough trim for all 4 side edges of the door. Buy trim that is the same width as the width of the door edges. Trim can be found in a wide variety of styles, plain to fancy.

Buy 4 premade furniture legs. Hardware stores have a large selection of premade, plain or decorated legs for furniture. Look for sturdy legs at least 2 1/2"-3 1/2" in diameter. Make sure the leg length meets your needs. If you are using the desk for a computer it must be shorter than a desk that will be used for writing or other work.

Cut trim pieces and attach to the door edges using small finishing nails. Cut the trim at 45-degree angles so they fit together seamlessly where they meet at the corners of the door.

Paint or stain the door and legs. This step is a matter of personal taste. Most hard core doors are finished so they may be stained but many are made of low grade materials and will look best painted.

Place the door on a stand or saw horses top side down. Screw the legs to the bottom of the door flush with the edges, using 4 wood screws for each leg. If you prefer to have the legs mounted inside the edges of the door instead of flush, measure carefully from the front and sides of the door and mark around the entire leg so you can keep the leg aligned as you attach it with screws. Repeat for all the legs.