Quite the bedroom makeover - have a look (loads of pics)

Dunno if this is WTLW, but someone suggested a collage for the wall over the bed - perhaps containing all the photo's of the work done. I am green with envy as that desk is perhaps the best piece of furniture and carpentry work I have ever seen. I'm not envious of the desk, I'm envious of the skills of the carpenter who did it all.

Amazing setup - just hope you don't have to move house!
 
so like, this has inspired me, because like u were, i am currently living in a pit, and i really need a proper desk and chair and room. i like diy things so am really considering to have a go at doing it myself, though obviously it wont be as good as yours as yours is simply stunning!

i got a few questions so i can get an idea of how to do this, one of which is, the main desk, is is one whole piece of wood? or is it a couple of pieces assembled together? was the curvature cut out by the carpenter, or did it come like that? iv got an idea of how i want my desk to look, but there is no way that i have the skill to make a single piece like that...
 
5tephen said:
and at least 120 hours of his time. I can't believe the effort he put into it for something that wasn't his own,
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Well believe it or not its actually fun doing a project such as that :). Its great seeing it take shape. If i was to win the lottery i would buy a fully kitted out workshop and make stuff like that every day for fun, no really i would :D.
 
azamc said:
i got a few questions so i can get an idea of how to do this, one of which is, the main desk, is is one whole piece of wood? or is it a couple of pieces assembled together? was the curvature cut out by the carpenter, or did it come like that? iv got an idea of how i want my desk to look, but there is no way that i have the skill to make a single piece like that...
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It looks to be 4 or more pieces of timber book jointed together. To cut a curve like that in such thick timber i think you would really struggle with powertools. You'd need to make a template and get it cut on a band saw and then sanded up with a bobin sander.
 
azamc said:
so like, this has inspired me, because like u were, i am currently living in a pit, and i really need a proper desk and chair and room. i like diy things so am really considering to have a go at doing it myself, though obviously it wont be as good as yours as yours is simply stunning!

i got a few questions so i can get an idea of how to do this, one of which is, the main desk, is is one whole piece of wood? or is it a couple of pieces assembled together? was the curvature cut out by the carpenter, or did it come like that? iv got an idea of how i want my desk to look, but there is no way that i have the skill to make a single piece like that...
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It is two pieces stuck together. It's actually oak veneer so probably two sheets of MDF. Then polished and sanded 5 times over. The weight of the thing was ridiculous :eek: Two of us had to carry it upstairs and when fitting, we had to lift it in and out at least 5 times while he sanded little corners off to get a perfect fit. Not nice I tell you.
I can only assume it was done from a template since the two sheets had to be done, plus the canopy along the top. The canopy follows the same curves as the actual desk except recessed in a few inches.
 
azamc said:
is that 2 layers stuck together, or 2 pieces? if pieces, where are they both joined?
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It's actually 2 layers on top of each other, but also 2 pieces side by side. One large and one a fair bit smaller, and they're joined in such a way that the grain looks like one single sheet :) You can see the join here, between the two wiring holes:
desk-side.jpg


The reason was because that was the biggest sheet available, the next biggest sheet was 3 or 4 times the length & width which would have been ridiculous money and ridiculous wastage.
It's hard to notice in any photos or even when looking at the desk in the flesh. Even more so because a speaker and my mouse mat both sit over it :)
 
5tephen said:
The reason was because that was the biggest sheet available, the next biggest sheet was 3 or 4 times the length & width which would have been ridiculous money and ridiculous wastage.
It's hard to notice in any photos or even when looking at the desk in the flesh. Even more so because a speaker and my mouse mat both sit over it :)
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Yeah he's book matched the veneer to make it look like that. I actually thought it was solid wood joined together with a veneer edging to hide the end grain.
 
azamc said:
you say that you sanded and painted 5 times, what does that mean? how do you keep that wood effect?
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Sanded and polished :) And it wasn't me obviously.
He showed me a sample of how light & pale the veneer was before the sanding/polishing and there was an incredible difference. Why 5 times over I don't know, I didn't see it each step of the way but 3 would've been enough for anybody else probably :p
 
Thanks for the compliments.
azamc - I honestly don't know enough about the details of the polishing or of the basic materials. I was away for 2 weeks, came back and he had the desk & shelves built and polished off by that stage. I don't think MDF is that expensive? I'm nearly sure he bought the sheet off a local wholesaler. The actual sheet of veneer, I have no idea. The edge of the desk was bought as a thin roll and then effectively ironed onto the surface.
 
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