Today I’m showing you how Handy Hubby and I built a DIY waterfall desk using solid walnut countertops, which made this modern, streamlined DIY desk so simple to make!
Yep, that’s right: we are finally tackling our home office! I’m so excited to add more style and function to this workspace. To carve out a second workspace and reading nook, I had to say goodbye to my beloved, DIY sewing machine treadle desk. Hubby made the top for me way back in 2007. I was a graduate student and teaching assistant and I liked being able to spread out my marking and research. These days my work is way more contained, so I can definitely get by with smaller work surface. That meant we could create a desk for two, which would provide Hubby a space to use his laptop too (we sold his DIY welded wood top desk when we moved from the townhouse).
We spent over a year sketching out and pondering DIY desk designs – I devoted a whole Pinterest board to workspace inspiration and desk ideas! We were coming up with more and more complicated designs until one day we decided that we just wanted something simple: no drawers, no fancy welded legs, nothing motion activated, lol – just a modern surface that would help hide cords at the back. A mid-century modern look was on my wish list, too. The desk design we loved most? A simple solid walnut, waterfall desk:
In order to get a desk to fit our wall perfectly (and not impede access to the room by jutting out into the doorway), we decided to to tackle a DIY waterfall desk so that we could customize the height, length, and depth.
Let’s chat about that DIY waterfall desk!
Full disclosure: Hubby and I fully intended to build this DIY desk ourselves at my father-in-law’s woodworking studio, but once Hubby’s Dad saw our plans – and the gorgeous slab of walnut we brought with us – he cleared his schedule and pretty much built this for us! Isn’t he the best? Hubby helped him of course, but I mostly sat around the shop and played with the dogs all day, only stepping in for sanding (on the stroke sander!), some routing (which was fun!), and then hand sanding and finishing once we got the desk home. I’m the finisher, haha.
Want to make your own DIY waterfall desk? Here’s what you’ll need, plus the step-by-step tutorial – in case a bottle of Scotch won’t entice any woodworkers you know to make it for you.
Supplies:
- Solid wood plank (we ordered Black Walnut, 1.5″ plank counters from a company that no longer exists)
- Table saw
- Epoxy
- Wood glue
- Plate joiner (also known as a biscuit cutter)
- Wood biscuits (as large as practical for strength)
- Trim router
- Belt sander (we used a stroke sander)
- Large selection of bar clamps
- Four framing squares
- Watco Danish Oil
Although Hubby and his Dad did a beautiful job building our solid maple kitchen counters from scratch, for this desk I wanted the tutorial to be a little simpler – and more doable – for blog readers, so I reached out to a now-defunct company that creates beautiful solid wood surfaces from different wood species. But you could use any solid wood countertop options from local lumber yards and DIY home improvement stores. The company sent me three pieces of solid black walnut (one 24″x72″ length and two 24″x31″ lengths):
How to Make a DIY Waterfall Desk:
The first step of this DIY waterfall desk was to fill the knots with epoxy. Hubby’s Dad explained that this adds strength to the knot and fills the holes. Because the epoxy will sink a little into a hole before it sets, fill them in so the top is a bit higher than the wood surface. Larger holes might require multiple applications. You can also use wood filler, but epoxy dries in five minutes. Once the epoxy dried, we just sanded it smooth and now there’s no hole, although the beauty of the knot hasn’t been obscured.
Next, Hubby and his Dad cut the mitred edges on the table saw, at 45 degrees. It was tricky to keep the longest length of walnut level, so as to not distort the mitered edge, but they did an amazing job – it turned out perfectly.
Here’s what the finished cut for the mitred corner looked like:
To add strength to the joint Hubby and his Dad used wood biscuits in the joint. Here is the bottom of the biscuit cutter when cutting the grooves. Hubby and his Dad worked carefully to ensure that the holes matched up with the corresponding piece in the finished mitered corner.
After that it was time to put the pieces on the stroke sander and make them nice and smooth. Hubby’s Dad tackled this because it was very important that the edges were not rounded because we needed a nice straight, sharp corner for the assembly so the joint would be tight.
Before gluing, Hubby and his Dad spent a long time carefully dry fitting everything together to make sure it all fit and that they had all the proper clamps in place. It took awhile to figure out what clamp would go where and how to keep such a huge piece clamped tightly. Once the wood glue is applied you pretty much have one shot because the biscuits start swelling and will not want to be removed.
The framing squares were clamped in place and used as reference to make sure the legs were square to the top, which was placed upside down in the photo below. We put painters tape all around the glue joints to keep most of the glue that squishes out from going on the wood. Once we were ready it was simply a case of gluing the biscuits, putting it together and clamping it.
Even though Hubby and his Dad worked quickly, they still needed to persuade the joints together.
Whew! Everything was clamped together with a million clamps and then we went inside to have dinner. Later in the evening, once the glue was dried, we routed the edges of our DIY waterfall desk.
It was my first time using a router – I’m always stuck with hand sanding edges instead. I love a sharp, squared off edge but rounding it the tiniest bit not only strengthens the edge and prevents chipping, but it also makes it less sharp. The edges now are comfortable and smooth – great for when I’m tap-tap-tapping away on my computer…like right now!
Adding a Plank of Wood to Hide Cords:
The final step of construction for our DIY waterfall desk was to add the support piece at the back, which may be optional but we all decided that a little bit of extra hold is never a bad idea – plus this piece helps hide cords. We picked up a solid black walnut plank at the lumber yard and planed and sanded it before cutting it to length. It too was installed using biscuits and wood glue, and held with clamps.
In the photo below you can see the bracing piece we added for support more clearly. It’s inset, so we affix our surge arrest power bar there and contain all of the cords between this channel we’ve created and the wall – completely unseen, but easily accessible from below.
Here’s a better look at the how the plank of wood hides those cords – it’s a simple idea you could borrow to hack many desk styles for cable management:
Finishing the DIY Walnut Desk:
Here’s a look a the completed desk, before it was finished with Danish Oil:
Now came my part of the DIY waterfall desk project: a morning of hand sanding (moving from a 100 grit to a finer 220 grit) and then giving the walnut a coat of oil.
I’ve used different Danish/teak oils before, but this time I tried the Watco brand Danish Oil – in natural (although I’m curious about the different color finishes). It’s an oil and varnish in one, so it was a quick process with no laborious burnishing or hand-rubbing required – although it gives the look of a hand-rubbed surface. The application was so simple: apply generously (watch for any areas that soak it up and apply more there right away), wait half an hour, apply another coat, wait fifteen minutes and wipe off. That’s all! It penetrated into the walnut wood and created a rich finish from within. I will keep you posted on how durable it is, but so far the wood has been protected and looks great (it’s been a few weeks). I love the velvety feel – it’s SO smooth.
There are few things in life more satisfying than oiling walnut…
Look at the beautiful walnut grain! The finish really brought out the lustrous beauty of natural walnut. You can see my epoxy filled knots, too:
After the Danish Oil had cured, we added some felt feet underneath to protect our floors and that was it! Our DIY waterfall desk was done! All told, this took about a day and a half to build, sand, and finish. We love our new walnut waterfall desk!
UPDATE: check out the finished home office space right here!
From the doorway, the look is clean and simple – thanks to the waterfall style. I prefer this to legs for the location of our desk because everything is hidden and when you walk past, the room doesn’t feel “office-y,” which is nice because you can pretty much see in here from the front door (small house problems).
See the Finished Mid-Century Modern Inspired Office Makeover Here!
In these photos you’re getting a peek at our new aqua tweed curtains (I talked about the fabric choice soooo long ago) and the art placement. But if you want to check out the completed mid-century modern inspired office makeover, check out this post right here! I love how my colorful home office turned out.
P.S. Don’t Forget to Pin for Later!
Gorgeous! What a beautiful piece Tanya!
Thanks Elaine! I'm so thrilled with how it turned out!
What type of material is used for the surface surrounding the table saw?
Author
The table saw is my father-in-law’s and it has arborite (it’s a brand of laminate) around it – basically what is used for laminate counters. He is a woodworker by trade and he built the surround.
So in love with this desk!! It's a beautiful piece of furniture. The pictures after oiling, almost makes me want to run my hands on the wood! Is that creepy ����
Thank you! No, not creepy at all! Wanting to run your hands on this walnut is perfectly acceptable 🙂 It's really velvety – which is good, because I wasn't sure if the desk was done being sanded, or I was just done sanding the desk, haha.
The desk is beautiful! Also, I popped over to the Craft-Art website and holy cripes–this is definitely the most expensive desk diy I've ever seen. I might try something similar with plywood and a huge sheet of walnut veneer to allow for a "true" waterfall edge. Last thing: what's your (your dad's?) opinion on using biscuits to edge join larger boards? I've read that it's not necessary but I'm skeptical.
Thanks Liza! I'm so happy you like it.Yes, walnut wood is VERY expensive – even walnut plywood. But we often DIY not to make something less expensive, but to make something custom. I DO love a cheap and cheerful makeover, but I also want to make some things we can keep and enjoy (and that will last) for a long time. I had my last DIY desk almost a decade and I would have kept it still, but now we wanted room for two. I hope than in 10+ years we still have this desk. Maybe even 20? We have so many projects to do, I can't see having time to circle back to this one before I'm 50, lol. I have made many things from plywood but after living with our solid maple counters, my heart was set on a solid wood desk. I just love the feel, personally. I like your idea of using veneer, though! You can always chose a less expensive wood as well. Pine, for example, is much, much cheaper even when sold in a laminated block. There are some great wood stains that mimic the color of walnut – the Danish Oil I used came in different colors. If you tackle your idea, will you share photos? I am sure it will turn out beautifully! I have used walnut veneer ply but never played with the walnut veneer sheets but I have been tempted! Hubby's Dad admittedly overbuilds things. Watching him plan a project and build it is amazing because he thinks about every possible outcome and is so aware of how the wood might move. He definitely wanted as much strength as possible and the biscuits and back piece offer more strength than simple gluing. For constructing the desk as well, the biscuits helped keep the corners tightly in place while the glue dried. Given the difficulty holding it in place with bar clamps, I cannot imagine having done this without biscuits. If we had built the desk in our office, we might have gotten away with a glued corner – and even skipped that brace piece – but because we transported it an hour down bumpy country roads, we wanted that extra measure. There's also a lot of leverage because of the long pieces so bumping into the desk could potentially snap a joint that's only glued. I think the idea is that it's better to be safe, than sorry.If you have a specific project in mind, I can bend his ear about it – just don't tell him I said that 🙂
LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Thank you!!! I'm so excited to find some chairs and see how we like working side by side… should be interesting!
I love the desk!!! Also, so cute to see your dog resting as your father-in-law works in the shop:) Pets are awesome!Amy in MN
Thanks Amy! She is such a cutie, but behind the scenes she bullied my father-in-law's oddly sensitive pup, who was hiding from her. She positioned herself between us and him and kept him away at all costs, which I think hurt his feelings.
Oh wow, that is one thing about living creatures, personalities can be intense at times—poor other dog:(Amy
I know! Szuka also has a thing with a dog in the neighborhood we (affectionately) refer to as "that bitch Gracie" – they totally spar, but with every other dog on the blog Szuka is cool. It's so interesting to watch!
Very, very nice! My father was a skilled hobbiest woodworker and walnut was one of his favorites along with wormy chestnut.
Thank you! Did you pick up any woodworking skills from your dad? I'm Googling wormy chestnut right now – sounds intriguing!
Skills? Sadly no. Appreciation? Yes 🙂 Poor dad, no one else in the family shared his appreciation for wormy chestnut. He had stockpiles of it in the barn, just waiting to make cabinets or furniture and my mom wouldn't hear of it.
Awww, your poor Dad didn't get to live out his wormy chestnut dreams? It's actually kind of beautiful!
That's a killer desk for sure! I especially love the color choiceHow long did it take for this little project? I am so tempted to make one though my DIY skill is poor….
Thanks! Well, with the wood already prepped for us and ready to be used as counters, the project took a lazy day to build (we chatted, we discussed the plan of attack, we had dinner) and then another afternoon to sand and finish. Really, quite a quick DIY in the grand scheme of things.
o love the desk, it so unique, vintage. I especially love the color choicethanks for sharing
Thanks so much!
Gorgeous! What a beautiful piece, My father was a skilled hobbiest woodworker and walnut was one of his favorites along with wormy chestnut.
Thank you, I'm so happy with it! Another reader's woodworking dad loved wormy Chesnut – isn't that interesting? I'd never heard of it before.
That is a great looking desk Tanya. Lot's of work, that is for sure. Too bad my husband do not build things 🙂
Thanks for posting this. Beautiful work. I’m going to bookmark it for future access, as I want to do something similar (slimmer) for an entry table.
Author
So happy you like it! I’d love to see photos of your entry table when it’s done – that’s such a great idea.
What level of experience is required for such a project? I’m not a builder but this is gorgeous. I just don’t feel like I’d ever be capable. 🙁
Author
Thank you! Well, the genius thing about this desk is that the biggest part – laminating wood boards together to make a surface – is done. The mitered corner makes it trickier, so I’d say intermediate? It you wanted to make a butt joint instead, all of a sudden it becomes a much, much easier project. The size makes this harder than the technique, because it was such a long desk and such heavy pieces of wood. For anyone who wants to try something like this but feels overwhelmed, I always say to find someone to help. Like even a carpentry or woodworking student might want to earn a few bucks and lend a hand – for a fraction of the cost of hiring a pro or buying from a store. I have loads of easier DIY projects in my archives too! Smaller crafts and beginner wood working project ideas.
Beautiful desk, thanks for sharing! Please tell me about the art on the wall above it?!
Author
Thank you! The abstract art was painted by my husband’s grandfather, who was a professional artist. The website is http://www.berweir.ca and I think the family was looking into selling prints of some pieces?
I just wanted to ask how the Danish Oil has held up? Debating putting some on natural wood end tables I have. Thanks!
Author
It has help up really well except where my wrist touches the desk while I’m using my mouse – it needs a touch up there. I often wash my hands before using my computer so I think sometimes my sleeve is wet and so I’ve worn it off there. It’s a good finish, but I’d recommend coasters for drinks. It’s definitely not as hardy as a typical clear coat – like a varnish – but it has a more velvety finish which I prefer – looks natural. But I definitely use a coaster when I bring in my coffee.