When Steph decided to turn her guest room into an office, it was apparent she needed a new desk. There is a great nook in the room that just cried out for a built in, floating desk. Research on the web showed it was a completely do-able project, so we thought, why not?

We don't necessarily encourage you to use our step by step tutorial but encourage you to study our procedure as a way to education yourself on how to and how not to do things if you decide to build your own floating desk. We are so happy we tried this, we learned so much from it, and are excited to share!

We bought some new materials for this but also reused a lot of materials we had.

Step 1: Watch the Video

Want to WIN a distressing kit like you saw in the video?

Step 2: Gather Desk Support Materials

To make the desk support:

We bought:

(6) 2x4 studs
(3) Metal brackets to connect joints
1x4 pine board

We already had:

Keyboard tray + sliders
(4) corner braces
Marker board panel
(2) small wood ledges

Step 3: Get Measurements

First we measured the space where the desk needed to fit. Then we marked and cut the 2x4 boards.

We used a magnetic stud finder to mark the screw holes placement and dry fit the (3) 2x4 boards that connected directly to the walls. We made sure everything was level and at the right height for Steph. We even brought in the computer chair to test out the height.

Step 4: Connect Support to Wall

Next we screwed the 2x4’s into the wall. We made sure to screw into as many studs as we could and added a few wall dog screws (screw and anchor in one) where studs were not available.

We added a metal bracket in each corner to secure all three boards to each other.

Step 5: Attach Middle Support

The middle support is not centered. We based the middle 2x4 placement on the width of the keyboard. We used another metal bracket to attach the middle board.

Step 6: Attach Top Board Using Pocket Holes

Next we dry fit the 1x4 pine board that attaches to the top. We were not sure how to attach the wood. We ended up making pocket holes using the kreg jig system. This was our first time using this tool and are really happy with the results.

We got the board secured in place with special screws which are included in the kreg jig system.

Then we screwed the middle section together.

Step 7: Add More Support

After getting this all attached we realized this was not enough support as there was a little movement in the middle of the desk. I had some corner braces from an old bed frame I took apart and we added 4 of those for more support.

We attached the keyboard tray and still needed more support so we added more 2x4s and used the kreg jig system again.

Step 8: Attach Left Drawer

On the left side we decided to add a little drawer to keep cables and such in. We used some scrap backing board from an old dresser and wood ledges as drawer guides.

Step 9: Attach Metal Bracket Support

The desk would have probably been fine, but there was still a little give in the middle section. We added a large metal bracket which we attached to the bottom of the desk just to make sure everything was nice and strong.

Step 10: Gather Desk Top Materials

Step 11: Distress Slats

Mom used some distressing tools to beat up the wood. We wanted it to look a little aged so this helped achieve the perfect look.

Step 12: Stain and Seal Slats

Then Mom moved on to stain and seal all the slats. The seal she chose was actually recommend by the contractor that did a major remodel at her house.

Step 13: Attach Slats

We used quarters as spacers and used a nail gun to attach the slats to the wood support.

Step 14: Gather Materials From Front of Desk

The front of the desk uses (2) aluminum angle bars, (2) 1x2 pine boards, the doors are (2) 1/4x4 red oak boards, and all is attached with construction adhesive. The door spacer uses a keyhole embellishment, 1/4” offset clips and Sugru adhesive.

Step 15: Rout Two Parallel Grooves in 1x2 Boards

We routed two parallel grooves in each of the 1x2 boards. We made our own make-shift jig to make sure the lines were nice and straight. This was the first time we used a router. Please see our additional post on "what we learned" about using a router.

Step 16: Glue Front Frame

We cut the angle bars to size and glued the bar to the back of the 1x2 routed boards. We used scrap 1x2 wood to make the side pieces. We clamped all this for 24 hours. Then we added the doors and glued the frame together.