Pallet Wood Sawhorse Desk


Pallet wood desk with pallet wood sawhorse legs, upcycled, recycled, repurposed

A couple of years ago I was scavenging the internet, looking for diy projects when I came upon a super  cool pallet wood desk over at Funky Junk Interiors. Donna did a fantastic job of combining sawhorses, a ladder, pallet wood, transferred lettering and an assortment of rusty junk to make one fantastic desk. It called out to me…make me, make me.

Funky Junk Interiors desk

You can see why it had my name written all over it.

I had the perfect place to put it, in a newly bought beach house which I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on furnishing.  The house had no office area but everyone liked to bring their laptops and computers, which ended up all over the dining table.

I had one little problem, I didn’t have a pair of sawhorses and I didn’t have an old ladder.  I did manage to find an old ladder in an antique store for $65 but for some reason I didn’t buy it. Maybe the $65 price tag?

Well I solved the sawhorse problem.Back in January I showed you how to make sawhorses out of pallet wood.  

I know there are tons of sawhorse plans out there, but I think mine was pretty easy and best of all it was free. It was pallet wood after all.

Pallet Wood Sawhorse diy

Pallet wood desk with pallet wood sawhorse legs, upcycled, recycled, repurposed

 Now for the top of the desk.

 Sorry, I don’t have pictures of this build in progress, but I’m pretty sure you can figure this one out.

The pallet wood was cut to size and sanded really well with a palm sander  (just the tops).  This was probably the step that took the most time.

The pallet wood was then attached to  two lengths of 2×4’s with finishing nails from the top.  The 2×4’s expand the entire length of the desk. On the front of the desk the 2×4 sits about an inch and a half from the front edge of the pallet wood.  On the back of the desk, the 2×4 is about 6 inches in from the back edge of the desk.  Can you tell that this was a salvaged piece of 2×4? Pretty, huh?

Pallet wood desk with pallet wood sawhorse legs, upcycled, recycled, repurposed

Along the sides and back of the desk, additional (well sanded) pieces of pallet wood create a ledge.  These pieces were again attached with finishing nails, this time from the bottom. That was the reason for the 2×4 so far in from the back edge..to give room to nail.

The front piece (underneath the pallet wood) is actually pieces of salvaged oak flooring, used to give the desk a little more bulk.  Of course pallet wood could be used here too. These were nailed directly to the 2×4 support.

Entire piece was then given a couple of coats of  dark walnut Varathane , the kind with the stain and polyurethane in one can. What I like about the Varathane is that it’s water cleanup…I can’t tell you how many brushes I’ve ruined not getting the polyurethane all the way out of the brush bristles and then it’s rock hard the next day.  Water cleanup is the best!

If you find that the desk has little bumps in the finish after the first coat of Varathane, try buffing it lightly with fine steel wool and wiping with a lint free rag.  Then go ahead and apply the second coat.

Pallet wood desk with pallet wood sawhorse legs, upcycled, recycled, repurposed

With a jigsaw, cut out a notch in the oak flooring trim on both ends of the desk so that the desk will sit directly on the 2×4 supports.

Pallet wood desk with pallet wood sawhorse legs, upcycled, recycled, repurposed

This was originally an unused space and now it’s a great space to set up  a couple of computers.

Open hallway converted to computer area

 I mean seriously unused space.  Where the floor is, used to be a balcony overlooking the front door.

Pallet wood desk with pallet wood sawhorse legs, upcycled, recycled, repurposed

Pallet wood desk with pallet wood sawhorse legs, upcycled, recycled, repurposed

Upcycled Ice Crusher pencil holder

An old ice crusher holds pens on the desktop.

Total cost for the desk and two chairs…$10.  I think the ice crusher was $12.

Shared at Think and Make Thursday, Handmade Hangout Party, Friday Favorites, Catch as Catch Can,

Furniture Feature Friday, Link Party Palooza, Funky Junk Party Junk, DIY Sunday Showcase,

Silver Pennies Sundays, Amaze me Monday, Metamorphosis Monday, Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday,

Be Inspired Tuesday, Vintage Inspiration Party, Wow us Wednesdays,

Home Matters

and I was featured at

fridayfavsbasic200x

8 Comments

  • Corkie says:

    I am so happy I found your designs. I love then! Thanks!

  • Pamela Smith says:

    Awesome! I don’t need to say anything else!

  • That looks like the PERFECT desk for that spot! Nice work! When I first saw the ice crusher, I thought it was loaded with Twizzlers! LOL That might work too. 😉

    • Joan says:

      Well now you’re making me hungry and here I was just about to head off to the grocery stores. Twizzlers, yum.

  • Great update to that space! I love pallet wood projects. I can never find any pallet wood though. I often see it next to stores and am unsure if you can just go up there and take it when its sitting next to the dumpster?? Hmm, I should ask that. I always thought that stores reuse pallet wood. Thanks for sharing on Friday Favorites. Can’t wait to see what you have been up to this week! I also pinned your post. 🙂

    • Joan says:

      You might want to try Craigs list for pallet wood. Places you don’t think to look are giving them away all the time. My local tile store advertised there because they don’t reuse them. My brother in law is also a good source for retrieving them from his loading dock but you can’t have him :). If there is even the slightest chance that a company is reusing a pallet, I pass it by.

  • Rosemary says:

    You did a fantastic job! I have a passion for salvage.

  • […]  Scavenger Chick made this rustic and simple pallet desk. It is a dream desk! […]

Leave a Reply to Friday Favorites Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.