Antique Door Desk

Our daughter asked for a desk in her room to study at. After shopping at a couple of stores we came across an idea at a coffee shop to make a desk/table out of an old door. A trip to the local antique market produced the door and a trip to Home Depot for the remaining lumber for the frame. The legs were salvaged from a table that was found on the curb in the neighborhood. The rest of the table turned out to be in worse shape than initially thought.

Step 1: Prepping the Door.

The door had numerous coats of paint and needed to be stripped and sanded. This was a multi night project. The joints were also separating so those needed to be cleaned out, glued, and clamped together. Once the door was relieved of years of paint it revealed a beautiful wood grain.

A word of caution: Be careful with old items since they may have been painted with paint containing lead. Take appropriate safety measures to prevent exposure.

Step 2: Frame

The frame was made with 1" x 4" pine. All joints were screwed together with the Kreg Pocket Hole screws. These produce a strong, hidden joint.

The front board was also cut for a drawer.

Step 3: Painting and Assembly

Our daughter loves anything chevron and picked the colors.

First, a base white coat was put on the entire door and frame. Once dry the chevron pattern was printed and traced onto the inner panels. I masked the area off before painting. All painting was done with an air spray gun and it really produced a tough, smooth finish.

The hole for the door knob was left to pass cords through.

Step 4: Final Steps.

The top was secured to the frame with pocket screws.

To finish the top I added a piece of plexiglass and framed the outside of the door with thin trim strips to secure it into place.

You can also see the drawer in these photos. Made the drawer frame with 3/8" plywood and the same 1"x4" pine for the front.

It turned out very sturdy and has even improved our daughters school grades!!!

Comments

[jakeers]

That table is sexy and leaving the door handle hole there for cords was brilliant, pure inspiration. Anyways could you take a pic of the pocket hole screws you did? I'm kinda confused as to how they work

[TerryJ5]

http://m.lowes.com/pd/Kreg-Mini-Kreg-Jig-Pocket-Hole-Kit/1058457

[amberrayh]

The finished desk looks great. I'm glad to hear that your daughter is enjoying doing her homework on it! I hope we see more from you in the future.