EP24 The Fold Up Office
Make a collapsible desk that can easily folds up and hangs on a wall. Pair the desk with a classic, metal folding chair to create a home office for under $100. Feel free to get creative. We painted the desk with chalkboard paint, gave it a 'TO DO' header and spray painted the folding chair a bright color. The fold up office makes a great addition to a crowded dorm room or studio apartment.
SUPPLIES:
Laminated Pine PanelAvailable at Home Depot.
10" Zinc Plated Mending PlateAvailable at Home Depot
Chalkboard PaintAvailable at Home Depot
Crawford Adjustable Folding Steel SawhorseAvailable at Amazon.com
Metal Folding ChairAvailable at Amazon.com
Optional:
Spray PaintAvailable at Home Depot
TOOLS:
RYOBI 18 Volt Cordless DrillAvailable at Home Depot
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1: Paint the pineI painted both sides of the pine panel with chalkboard paint.
STEP 2: Print and cut out a 'To Do' stencilWhile the paint was drying, I cut out a stencil with the words 'To Do'.
STEP 3: Spray paint the sawhorseIf you like original color of the sawhorse, leave it as-is. I painted mine white.
STEP 4: Spray paint the stencilI used white Scotch Blue Painters tape to secure the stencil to the top of the desk and then used the same white spray paint that I painted the sawhorse with to fill in the stencil.
STEP 5: Drill holes in the sawhorseAlign the brackets (aka mending plates) with one of the existing holes in the saw horse. Drill the a second hole through the saw horse.
STEP 6: Screw the desktop to the sawhorseI used 16 ¾” long screws with washers to attach the pine board to the sawhorse legs.
STEP 7: Screw a cabinet handle on the underside of the deskI screwed a cabinet handle on the underside of the desk so that I could hang the desk on a wall.
Important Note:
The desk weighs about 20lbs so if you're going to hang it on a wall, make sure you securely attach the hooks.
Optional StepsPaint the folding chair. Basic metal folding chairs are a durable and affordable piece of furniture that can be painted any color.
Use hooks. Utilize the hooks for hanging the office to hang shelves or a pendant light.
Make a shelf. Use wire connected to a 2x3 to hang a shelf from one of the hooks. I hung a concrete pendant light that I made from the other.
Experiment. I also played around with a combination shelf and light switch.
Good luck making your own fold up office and please email or tweet photos to @benuyeda or ben@homemade-modern.com. For more detailed instructions, dimensioned drawings and different variations of the project, check out our soon-to-be-released book.
