[DesignsforDIY]

I built this solid wood desk from scratch with little woodworking experience. Not trying to toot my own horn just highlight that if I can do it anyone can. So many folks will pay hundreds if not thousands for furniture that they can make themselves. The best part is you can fit it to your exact needs instead of buying a cheap mass produced version that may not be comfortable for you.

If anyone is interested in giving it a shot I have detailed the build instructions, materials, and tools needed on my website DesignsforDIY. Happy to answer any questions. Get off the computer and start building today!

 

[SW Dweller]

Not much, I like deep drawers on top. The pictures are nice, no diemesions and pics of the drawers open I would just walk on by.

 

[chandler48]

How about better leg room. I'm big and need to spread out a little more. What kind of drawer hardware was used? Drawers don't seem to be uniformly in place.

But to your question, not as much as a retail competitive design.

 

[Domo]

Good first project. You learned a lot!

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Unfortunately you are going to find that people aren't going to pay what you think. Unless you do real high quality work, or high volume for something like etsy, you aren’t going to even cover the cost of materials.

 

[Steve2444]

Not that I could do any better, I'm sure I couldn't do nearly as well.

For me, the leg opening is not wide enough at the desk I now sit at and judging with my keyboard, I have 5" on either side of the keyboard for the opening, any less imo would be cramp.

The Drawers seem to be not fitted well. I would pass.

 

[Elmer-Dallas Texas]

The desk has a nice look. However, it is not particularly what some one would pay a lot of money. Imo, it does not fit a genre. There are maybe about 5 types of furniture people.
The largest group is probably utilitarian. They can't afford to be picky. They want functional furniture probably hand-me-down, Craigslist, garage sale or thrift store.
The second group thinks IKEA look is the ultimate.
The next buys furniture from Walmart or online and it comes in a flat box.
The next group goes to those furniture stores like Rooms-to-go.
And the last is that tiny group that buys heirloom furniture made in North Carolina or Amish country.
If you want to make money working on furniture, imo you should look at repairs for people who have sentimental attachment to a piece of furniture they own. Many will pay well for repairs. Finding the right material and doing the job is time consuming. In most markets I would guess your rate would work out to be between $8 to $14 per hour. If you reach the expertise as a restorer then you could make more.

 

[DesignsforDIY]

Not much, I like deep drawers on top. The pictures are nice, no diemesions and pics of the drawers open I would just walk on by.

Thanks for the feedback! Dimensions are 48" wide x 34" deep x 31.5" tall

 

[DesignsforDIY]

How about better leg room. I'm big and need to spread out a little more. What kind of drawer hardware was used? Drawers don't seem to be uniformly in place.

But to your question, not as much as a retail competitive design.

The non uniformity of the drawers is mostly due to me trying to figure out how to be a woodworker 😆. No special hardware used, just a simple slide design on square dowels with some bar soap. You'd be surprised how well the bar soap helps the wood on wood slide feel.

On the note about being big and needing to spread out a little more, you are making my point 😊. You can make this desk as big or as small as you like. Thats the beauty of DIY!

 

[DesignsforDIY]

The desk has a nice look. However, it is not particularly what some one would pay a lot of money. Imo, it does not fit a genre. There are maybe about 5 types of furniture people.
The largest group is probably utilitarian. They can't afford to be picky. They want functional furniture probably hand-me-down, garage sale or thrift store.
The second group thinks IKEA look is the ultimate.
The next buys furniture from Walmart or online and it comes in a flat box.
The next group goes to those furniture stores like Rooms-to-go.
And the last is that tiny group that buys heirloom furniture made in North Carolina or Amish country.
If you want to make money working on furniture, imo you should look at repairs for people who have sentimental attachment to a piece of furniture they own. Many will pay well for repairs. Finding the right material and doing the job is time consuming. In most markets I would guess your rate would work out to be between $8 to $14 per hour. If you reach the expertise as a restorer then you could make more.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm actually not looking to make money from building furniture, more just curious if folks thought it was interesting enough to buy. After spending the time and effort to build it to my liking, I wouldn't sell it anyone unless someone got crazy and offered me a ridiculous pile of cash for it haha. Based on the initial comments, that does not seem like it is about to happen haha. Thanks again!

 

[RockyMtBeerMan]

Me, i'd be happy with some sawhorses and some plywood, but it looks great, much better than what i could do, especially as a first-time project.

 

[DesignsforDIY]

Me, i'd be happy with some sawhorses and some plywood, but it looks great, much better than what i could do, especially as a first-time project.

Thanks!

 

[DesignsforDIY]

Unfortunately you are going to find that people aren't going to pay what you think. Unless you do real high quality work, or high volume for something like etsy, you aren’t going to even cover the cost of materials.

its definitely not high quality work as a first build but maybe i'll get there someday .

 

[MTN REMODEL LLC]

Sort of associated with this....but national television just had a segment on "furniture flippers".
Pretty interesting,,,,people are securing old furniture (sometimes by patrolling the roads on garbage day, and sometimes dirt cheap off craigs list of yard sales etc)

Then they are repainting or decorating or actually modifying it .... relatively cheaply... but with some pretty interesting designs .... and some are actually doing it as a business.... many just as a hobby for some extra vacation money.

I think the underlying success of the business is a function of procuring cheap, and having the decorating creativity to make something unique and different