Small Form-factor gaming desk/area - heavily modded desk

Associate
Joined
31 Jul 2012
Posts
1,016
Location
Cheshire
I still have several things to complete and will update this thread as these are finished.

I thought I’d post this in case it’s of interest to anyone with similar space challenges or gives them some ideas to do something similar. I guess a much larger desk could be modded in a similar way

Although I have a dedicated gaming room, space is fairly tight as I’m a little partial to building arcade cabinets and these seem to be overtaking the room. The objective was to create a small but practical gaming area with a style in-keeping with the rest of my DIY gaming machine builds. This also needed to have my essential peripherals within arm’s reach and organised.

The first objective was to identify an appropriate desk to be used as a basis to start from. The criteria were that it was both small and stable and also incorporated a back/vanity board. This is the one I selected which was the closest fit I could find:

420378.jpg


As you can see, there isn’t a lot of space on here (a mere 1m wide by 60cm deep) so things needed to be well thought out. Due to the lack of surface area, I figured that I’d need to create a monitor shelf and embed that into it. The stand on the monitor I had protruded out excessively making the desk next to useless in terms of being functional. A shelf would also allow me to store a mini keyboard underneath it when I wasn’t using my main gaming devices (G13 and mouse).

Next was to decide on the style of the modifications I wanted to make to the desk. As mentioned, I wanted these to be in-keeping with the other inhabitants of the room, particularly my DIY Vewlix cabinet:

IMG_0777.jpg


So this essentially has a very angular look to it which I wanted to maintain. I also needed to make a monitor shelf. Here’s a few pictures of this phase (this was after I had covered the desk surface and vanity board in blackboard vinyl).

IMG_0914.jpg


IMG_0913.jpg


Once those pieces were complete, I covered the front angled section of the desk in vinyl and attached it.

IMG_0921.jpg


By this point, I had also constructed the basis of the monitor shelf and embedded the hight / swivel / tilt mount into it.

DIYCustomGamingDesk1.jpg


CustomComputerDIYGamingDesk6.jpg


The next part was the most time consuming. Preparing and painting the sides of the desk and monitor shelf. The MDF pieces were filled with car body filler on the rough edges and sanded down smooth. These were then taken through various stages of priming, sanding and spraying to give the final finish. The ‘blotchiness’ is due to fingerprints on the finished painted surface.

IMG_0957.jpg


I wanted to ensure that none of the cables would be visible – I attached a power strip to the back of the vanity board and created some ‘wings’; these would create the overall design effect I was looking for and also help to prevent any visibility of the cables when viewed from the side.

CustomComputerDIYGamingDesk45.jpg


The next step was to complete the front of the monitor shelf by making some inserts. These were made from shaped MDF with vinyl applied to the recessed part.

CustomComputerDIYGamingDesk7.jpg


The final result, so far, looks like this (excuse the mess at this point):

CustomComputerDIYGamingDesk4.jpg


I then added some LED lighting to the back of the monitor shelf, activated by an RF remote under the front of the desk.

CustomComputerDIYGamingDesk8.jpg


Whilst I was doing this, I created an accessory tidy – I had to consider where to put my headphones, XBOX controller and gaming glasses. I made a board with some hangers to create this.

DIYGamingstorage2.jpg


DIYGamingStorage4.jpg


DIYGamingStorage5.jpg


Coat hangers and vinyl wrapped MDF were used to build this. The accessory tidy now has a hanger for my gaming glasses case which is not shown in the pictures.

I’d be interested to know whether anyone has any further suggestions for improving my gaming space.

Still to do:

Powder coat the legs in black.
Add pull out draws/trays behind the monitor shelf inserts.
Integrate a USB hub into the monitor shelf.
Add some additional LED lighting under the sides of the desk.
Add a white reading light for the keyboard somewhere .
Cut out a section of the vanity board as this restricts my legs a little.
 
Last edited:
That's looks pretty cool - very in keeping with the Viewlix cabinet :)

I have an idea for you....

Can you do some sort of custom PC build onto the back of the vanity board so that the computer is actually part of the desk? That way you have even fewer wires on show and you get rid of the box sat next to your desk.... just a thought :D
 
Sure. There's lots of different types of vinyl available - I use self adhesive blackboard / chalkboard vinyl, it has a nice textured feel to it. It can take a bit of practice and patience to apply but it comes out great provided that the surface is completely flat and clear of any dust or debris.

Here's a picture of the front piece of the desk being 'skinned':

IMG_0917.jpg


And here's a close up of the texture from my arcade cabinet's control panel:

IMG_0771.jpg
 
I love it!

I wish I had a view for this sort of thing. Projects like this make me jealous.

I would love to see the pc incorporated into the desk as well:)

Maybe a Perspex box built into the desk could design it to look like the screen from your gaming cabinet :/


If only I had this sort of ability:)
 
Thanks for the comments. If you have the right tools, these things aren't so hard to do, just a question of time and patience really.

I'm seriously thinking about how to integrate the PC into the desk - the main challenge is that the desk is so small (narrow and shallow).
 
Excellent Work
I have couple of questions if you don't mind, its slightly hard to see on the pictures if the monitor stand have any support apart from the corner pieces at both ends, because i am planning on doing something similar to my desk, i don't want my monitor stand to break in middle of a movie or gaming session, also how did you attach the pieces together, on the 3rd image i'm not sure if i'm seeing dual adhesive tape or the vinyl from the main surface, sorry for bothering you but i'm a complete rookie in modding furniture and for someone with space challenges in my studio flat, mods like yours are life saving if i want to have a comfortable gaming station
Thanks!
 
Thanks PAN3K. Yes, the monitor stand does have a support piece running the length of the monitor shelf primarily to stop any bending. There are cutouts to allow cables to be fed through. This picture may help some:

IMG_0959.jpg


Everything is glued and screwed together.

Not sure what you are referring to on the 3rd image unfortunately. If you can explain further, I'd be happy to elaborate.
 
On the 3rd picture of the build log you have a picture without the side panels and under it what i thought was black dual sided tape, but i think its just the vinyl so it doesn't matter, also because as i said im a bit of a beginner could you hint me what and how you pain the side panels, i'm not looking for an in depth tutorial just simple steps, because i want to make my vinyl match painted side panels and i'm afraid that they will stand out because of my poor paint job
Thanks!
 
Also when i did my research i came across a Blackboard spray paint, and i'm not sure if i should use it to match the vinyl or i should i follow your technique of painting the side panels
 
Thanks very much for the comments, it's appreciated :)

@Anox - thanks :) I try not to be too OCD as it doubles the amount to time to get things done! Still battling with that though ....

@PAN3K, the black on the 3rd picture is vinyl - I wanted to wrap this around the edges to make sure that it didn't peel off the main desk surface. The untidy edges are completely concealed by the bespoke side pieces. Regarding matching the wood to the vinyl, My view is that it's good to have a bit of a contrast in the texture/finish so it stands out a little. Matching the finish would also be a bit of a challenge imho. I did actually try it initially with the desk pieces but wasn't happy so re-did them. Couple of pics of the original finish:
IMG_0923.jpg


DIYCustomGamingComputerDesk1.jpg

MDF like a lot of wood needs the right preparation before starting. Without this, the finish will be average at best. Effectively, the steps are as follows:

-Cut the pieces to the desired shape.
-Fill in the edges with car body filler or something similar (without this, there's a tendency for the paint to soak into the MDF and leave a rough surface).
-Sand these edges down until they are smooth.
-Apply a primer, sand back, apply primer and sand again.

You can then either start to spray (I used automotive matt paint - comes out as a satin finish) or use a water based paint and apply a polyurethane varnish. When applying the spray, it's best to use thin coats. I think I applied 7 or 8 coats sanding back slightly in between most of these. When spraying, it would be sensible to allow any pieces to 'cure' (harden) for a few days before attaching them. Optionally, a clear cote can be applied to the final spray finish for extra durability.

I will be considering using plastidip on my next project - looks like it gives a durable rubberised finish - may be worth having a quick look at that if you are interested in a matt finish.

The build log for my latest project is posted on here also, it may provide some additional useful information on going down the paint/varnish route. The results can be pretty good and a lot faster to complete if care is taken:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18466025

If you have any more questions, fire away ...
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom