Rustic X Desk

Difficulty

Intermediate

Build your own farmhouse desk with free plans from Ana-White.com. Uses all off the shelf dimensional boards (no plywood!), easy to build with our step by step plans.

Collections

Rustic X Collection

For about $50 I built a new desk for my bedroom!

We have a desk area in our great room, but my toddler has been crawling all over me. So I decided I needed a desk behind a door for the next few years. Not wanting to spend a small fortune on a desk, I decided to build one.

Styled to match our super popular Rustic X Collection, my new desk is sturdy and beautiful, and very comfortable.

Watch me build it:

Pin For Later!

Rustic X Desk Plans

Dimensions

5 feet wide, 30" tall, about 2 feet deep

Preparation

Shopping List

3 - 2x4 @ 8 feet or stud length (92-5/8")

2 - 2x6 @ 10 feet

5 - 2x2 @ 8 feet (I used 2x2 furring strips)

1 - 1x10 @ 6 feet

Common Materials

2 inch finish nails

1-1/4" Pocket Hole Screws

2-1/2" Pocket Hole Screws

Elmer's Wood Glue

Cut List

6 - 2x4 @ 28-1/2" - legs

6 - 2x4 @ 17-3/4" - top and bottoms of leg sets

6 - 2x2 @ ~30" - X detailing

2 - 2x2 @ 17-3/4" - cleats for shelf supports

4 - 1x10 @ 17-3/4" - shelf boards

6 - 2x2 @ ABOUT 18-1/2" - measure and cut in the instructions

3 - 2x2 @ 28-1/2" - chair area 2x2s

4 - 2x6 @ 59-1/2" - tabletop

Cutting Instructions

NOTE: I changed the measurements shown in the diagrams at 18" to 17-3/4" so that all the cuts would fit on the boards by just making the base 1/4" less in depth. This does not change the height or the desktop.

Tools

Instructions

Step 1

Drill two 1-1/2" pocket holes on each end of the 2x4s @ 17-3/4".

Attach to the legs at the top.

Attach bottom with a 3" space underneath.

Keep pocket holes on the outsides.

Use 2-1/2" pocket hole screws.

Build three identical.

Step 2

Scribe the X detailing in place in the legs.

Cut out on a compound miter saw.

Attach with glue and 2" brad nails.

Add X detailing to all three.

Step 3

For middle shelf, attach 2x2 cleat with 2" brad nails and wood glue.

Do this only for two of the legs.

Step 4

Drill 3/4" pocket holes to connect two 1x10s together and attach with 1-1/4" pocket hole screws.

Then drill 3/4" pocket holes on all four sides of the shelves (2 on each side) and attach with 1-1/4" pocket hole screws to the sides.

Step 5

Take a measurement in between the two legs and cut six 2x2s to this measurement.

Drill a single 1-1/2" pocket hole on each end.

Then attach with 2-1/2" pocket hole screw and glue.

Also attach shelf to the 2x2 with 1-1/4" pocket hole screws through holes drilled in step 4.

Step 6

Attach the remaining leg set to the desk with 2x2s and pocket holes.

Step 7

Build the desktop first with 1-1/2" pocket holes and 2-1/2" pocket hole screws.

Attach base to underside of desktop.

Finishing Instructions

Finish Used

Golden Oak by Varathane

Project Type

Desk, Desk Systems and Project Table Plans

Room

office

Style

Farmhouse Furniture

Rustic Furniture Plans

Comments

Bryan G Price

Wed, 02/26/2020 - 06:09

Very Impressed with your Work!

Hello Ana,

I made a desk similar to this about a month ago. I like your design better though! The X cross pieces and the addition of the shelf for the printer is something I might even go back and see if I can incorporate into my current design.

Thanks for all you do!

Bryan.

RHgaijin2

Wed, 07/15/2020 - 15:45

X Desk

I just recently made this desk for a friend and made a video of it
https://youtu.be/cr35lgWSzHY

boomdog

Wed, 02/26/2020 - 07:27

L Shaped?

Ana,

Any chance you can extend this swap the "box" to both sides and then add a 3rd and make an L shape out of this?

Also do you know the approximate weight that a shelf could hold, we have a very heavy color laser printer and I worry about supporting it properly.

Thanks,

Mark

Drunknstein

Thu, 04/16/2020 - 21:56

Plans

How.do I print plans. Is there a pdf file

mvgreen3

Thu, 05/07/2020 - 10:58

There should be a printer…

There should be a printer icon across from the "Save this plan" link.

Lipps

Tue, 06/02/2020 - 21:34

What should you use to…

What should you use to attach the top to the frame?

JBuilt_NotBought

Sat, 07/18/2020 - 13:01

Ana used pocket hole screws…

Ana used pocket hole screws in the video she attached to the plans. I used 2 1/2" GRK deck screws that I had from a previous project that worked just as well. You could also make corner braces and attach that way. Google various ways to attach table top to frame and you'll find endless options.

dech_27

Sun, 07/05/2020 - 20:39

Rustic X Desk with L shape plans?

Hello,
I'm interested on doing this desk but in L shape. Is it possible that you have the plans for this but as an L shape? My husband and I really feel this would be a great desk that is sturdy but would like it as an L shape. We are just having trouble figuring it out how to do it. Thanks in advance!