DIY X-LEG DESK!

Hi friends! Today I want to share the DIY X-LEG DESK we recently made for a very troublesome space near our living room. Our home is very open and spacious but there is a strange area beside our living room that really has no purpose. I mean you can’t put your kitchen table there because it belongs by the kitchen and the entire back of our living room and kitchen is made up of a huge wall of windows which can make things difficult. So we have spent the past two years trying to figure out how we could utilize the space.

Since we turned what is supposed to be the office into our office/guest room we still needed an office area (you can see the full reveal here). I needed a space that I could work without feeling crowded and it would be nice for our youngest to have a space that she could do her homework without being isolated in case she needed help.

Once we knew we would be using the designated office space for more of a guest space it was apparent what we need to do with the weird empty area.

So after hunting for plans I finally came across a set where Shanty2Chic & Ana White teamed together and created plans for an X leg desk. I was in love with it the moment I saw it and knew it would be perfect for that area, so off to Lowes we went.

We spent more than the plans stated but that was due to us having to purchase the Kreg Pocket Jig, Wood Conditioner, poly and stain. I’m sure the girls probably had all of those things on hand. All of the items we purchased besides the lumber could be used on other projects as well so we didn’t mind spending the money.

We kind of did this project at a slow pace so it took a lot longer than it should have. The drying time between coats of poly really eats up time and we also changed the length. So about a week and a few tweaks later we were finally able to move it into the house and I’m totally loving my new workspace!

We changed the size down to 60″ instead of 72″ due to 72″ being too large for the space. We used one coat of Minwax dark walnut stain, then three coats of Minwax Poly. This project really was super easy and it looks so beautiful in person you can see all of the variations in the wood, I love it!

Hopefully none of you are as clumsy as I am,  I grabbed the can of Minwax while my gloved hands were dripping wet with stain and bam! All over the garage floor! I’m pretty sure my husband wanted to call an attorney and have them draw up my walkin papers in that moment but thank God he got over it. Just FYI it was not an easy mess to clean so my fellow clumsies beware!

The lamp was a total score I found on sale at Target and the small jars of pins, magnets, and clips were purchased at office depot for five bucks! Other than that I just used a few things I had on hand to style the area and it totally changed the space. It went from a blank boring spot to an area that looks finished and has a purpose! Just because something has no defined use, doesn’t mean you can’t do what feels right for your family.

Now we have the perfect space that I can sit and work and not feel completely crowded. Our daughter also now has a space she can sit quietly doing her homework while we are still within reach to help if needed.

I think it is so important that you truly sit down and think about what you need from a space before even beginning the design process. What will you do most there? What steps can be taken to help it become all you need it to be? So many people including myself make the mistake of starting with the other details first and that could not be a bigger mistake.

One thing that makes a house a “home” is that it functions for your family and if you don’t take the time to think about what you need then you cannot expect it to feel complete when you finish. It doesn’t matter if you rent or own you can still have the home that is right for you and yours.

Hope you all have a great week and coming up later this week I will be going over our plans for our home in 2017.