Advice requested for finding a desk plan / inspiration

[ed mirzay]

Hello all,

I'm in need of a desk plan or at least a strong inspiration for one to build for my loft.
The loft is finished with built-in red oak cabinets and bookshelves that I made a few years ago. The desk will sit up against a wall near an open railing.

I recently completed another desk (buginga/maple) that I had originally intended for this location but I just wasn't satisfied with how that matched with the design of the loft so I put it somewhere else.

I think another thing made out of red oak will just disappear in the room and I'm not certain white oak would do much better.

The desk should be of medium impact visually....a couple drawers would be nice....I'm going to place an iMac on it which doesn't take up much space and the keyboard/mouse are wireless so I'm not looking for an old style computer desk.

I work best from a plan or at least from a strong inspiration but I just can't figure out what to do in this case and there seems be a large void when it comes to desk plans on the internet....I've gone back through years of Fine Woodworking looking for plans or something in the reader's gallery as well.

Any advice for a design / style / woods that will work in the area?

Thanks,

[Thom Porterfield]

If you don't want the desk to match the rest of the room's case work, then I suggest you select a species (or treatment) that is very different. White oak wouldn't be that. Maple or birch or maybe beech, would provide a white low-figured contrast. Or, if you like the reddish tones of the oak, you might try red alder. I built a baby crib once out of sweet gum. It was gorgeous, and I think would look great with red oak, but the wood is soft and dents too easily to serve well as a desk. Fortunately, the kid grew out of the crib quick (or was it that it took me so damn long to build it?), and now the thing is in storage. For that matter, red alder isn't as hard as the white woods I mentioned. But it has a bland figure (won't compete) and is easy (read that: forgiving) to work.

Have you considered something like a frame and panel (or even trimmed slab) approach, even for the top, where the panels are non-wood, such as plastic laminate or painted MDF? Then you could use a highly figured wood and it wouldn't break the bank.

As for design, man, the sky's the limit. Seems to me it kind of depends on the style of the room you're placing the desk in. Is that railing open, does the desk show to spaces below the loft? What's on the floor, the walls? Are there windows and what's the view from them?

[Joe Chritz]

A complimentary wood is the key as Thom said.

I have mostly red oak in my place but the kitchen cabs are a light honey tone maple and it looks very good.

That said, I am partial to maple anyway, especially any of the figured varieties.

I wonder what something like Hickory would look like in a setting like that? It often has a rustic look but could go well with a room of oak.

Joe

[ed mirzay]

Hickory and Red Alder are definitely two woods I haven't thought of using...I don't branch out enough from my traditional oak/maple/cherry/walnut/mahogany stock.

The railing is open to the floor below but the desk will be oriented so that only the side is visible to it. The back will be against the wall.

I found this plan on the net :


It seems like it might be a nice fit, opinions?

[Thom Porterfield]

Looks good to me. Lots of opportunity to do trick stuff with accent wood, like your cherry, or perhaps something more exotic, like ebony, bubinga, rosewood, etc?

[Kevin Groenke]

Here's a nice G&G piece that a colleague started at Marc Adams' last summer.

[Joe Chritz]

Hickory and Red Alder are definitely two woods I haven't thought of using...I don't branch out enough from my traditional oak/maple/cherry/walnut/mahogany stock.

The railing is open to the floor below but the desk will be oriented so that only the side is visible to it. The back will be against the wall.

I found this plan on the net :


It seems like it might be a nice fit, opinions?

That chair has a serious case of the uglies!

The desk is very nice though and offers a lot of room for customization.

Joe