Teacher! I want a different desk!

Jeff Metke of Metke Remodeling called me to ask me if I could build a desk that wasn't just ordinary. He had a very rough pencil sketch of the end of this desk, for a design concept, and a coffee table of unknown origin that provided the inspiration for the texture and two tone color scheme.

There were several design challenges to address before building the desk.

First, There was an unusually long cantilever that had to be considered. The legs had to be able to sustain the weight of the desk itself and anybody that might happen to sit on it. This problem was solved by weighting the legs and using a very heavy grade of plywood in the privacy panel.

Second, the client wanted the handcarved texture. Since the endgrain of lumber doesn't carve well, all surfaces of the legs needed to be flat grain. This meant bending the lumber to fit the curves and mitering the joint between the curve and the flat portion. It took some headscratching, but the result was worth it. I'm pretty proud of the result.

Third, the office is up the stairs, first door on the right. The desk had to be designed to come apart and be reconstructed easily. No problem. The desk disassembles into 7 pieces in a matter of minutes.

This desk is a great example of the design, problem solving, and woodworking abilities we have at Saratoga Woodworks.