The thought of building your own desk from scratch may have already crossed your mind and you might even have some experience with this sort of project. The same goes for us so we though it would be interesting today to have a look together at a few DIY desk ideas. We envision adding such a desk to an office as a way to give it more character and to make it feel more welcoming. There are plenty of styles and designs to choose from so let’s get started.

Standing desks are cool and trendy but they can get quite expensive. If you want a simple standing desk without all the bells and whistles it would be much more affordable to build it yourself. You can use metal pipes for the legs and wood for the top. You should be able to easily find all the materials and tools required to make this plumbers pipe desk at your local hardware store.

If you’d much rather want to build a writing desk that’s entirely doable too. The design doesn’t need to be complicated in order to look stylish. Consider a desk with hairpin legs and a shelf, similar to this one. It looks slender and chic and it’s also practical. You get storage compartments for all your office supplies and a nice desktop for all your documents, your laptop and other things. Pair the desk with a nice-looking chair to complete your work station.

If you prefer something a bit simpler, you could make a hairpin leg desk without the shelf. Give it a solid and thick wood top to create contrast with the slender metal legs and paint these if you also want to add a splash of color to your design. Beauty lies in the details and there are all sorts of cool and stylish ways to accessorize your new desk in order to make this area stand out.

Here’s another cool-looking DIY desk idea, this time with a concrete top. It has a slightly rugged feel and a more industrial look and the best part is that you can actually add this look to your existing desk rather than having to build one from scratch. This is actually a faux concrete top which means all you have to do is apply a new finish to the existing surface. Of course, if you prefer a solid concrete desk you can make it happen. Keep in mind it would be heavy.

If you want to be able to disguise your desk so it blends into the room, a cool strategy is to incorporate it into a sort of shelving unit. This leaning ladder-style desk unit featured on ana-white is exactly what we have in mind. It looks a bit rustic and also a bit modern and the desk is disguised as a larger shelf in the middle. It’s a really cool design idea for a home office or a living room.

Another interesting option is to build a standing desk that’s attached to the wall, similar to how you would install a shelf. This particular desk is L-shaped and that means it fits nicely in the corner. The design, as you can see, is very simple which makes this entire project quite easy. It is of course possible to customize this build so if you prefer a certain type of wood or a particular finish or color you should definitely incorporate it into the project.

A live edge wood desk would also be fairly easy to build, especially if you go with a wall-mounted design or with hairpin legs. The most important part of the design is in this case the top and the tricky thing here is to find a cool-looking board with an interesting edge and shape. You can find some inspiration and more details about the project on themerrythought.

Incorporating metal pipes and fittings into your design is a really cool idea especially if you want to add an industrial twist to the project. Break up the rugged look with some warm wood with a nice finish. Once you have all the pieces laid out putting together the base is a lot like solving a puzzle. You can also install wheels or casters on the base if you want your desk to be mobile. In any case, you should find all the details of the project on housebyhoff.

The best thing about DIY desk projects is the customization. With that in mind, if you want your desk to have some sort of storage built into it, you can make it so. This design from shanty-2-chic is really cool because the storage area is hidden underneath the hinged top. Consider using reclaimed wood if you want to give your desk a worn and rustic look.

It’s also possible to build a computer desk from scratch. Of course, there’s no special rule or special design that applies to a computer desk but there are a few particularities to keep in mind. For example, this desk featured on instructables has a raised shelf which serves as a pedestal for the monitor which is very useful for saving space and also placing the monitor at eye level. Another important detail is the cable management system and that’s where you should take some time and come up with a plan that works for you and your habits.

Building your own desk from scratch is a good option when you have spatial limitations to worry about. This custom desk from instructables is very small and compact. It has a pull out tray for the keyboard and mouse and above that there’s a hidden storage shelf for accessories, cables and other things. There’s also a cable management system at the back. The entire desk is made out of wood and the design is fairly simple. You can customize it and even change the proportions based on the space available. A small desk such as this could even fit in a tiny bedroom or a dorm room.