The desk is finally done!!

Here in Misawa, we live in a 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment.  Although we really like the space, finding a strategic place for everything has been challenging.  With our floor plan, we have a large living area that can actually be broken up into two parts: TV area and small home office.

Since we technically have a small office space we desperately needed a desk!  I searched everywhere online, but furniture is expensive and I couldn't really find anything to fit our space.

So why not build it myself!?

I did some research online and found a great plan with a modern design.  I have no experience in the wood shop other than my little iPad display, but I was eager to get started.  Go big or go home right!?

Our wood shop imports all types of wood from the states, so I was able to get what I needed there and bought screws, glue, plywood and drawer slides from Homac.

I then rolled up my sleeves, put my protective eyewear on and I. Was. Ready.

{Here we go}

{cutting all the wood @ the beginning}

Wood is more expensive here than at home, so a few adjustments had to be made right from the beginning.  I was unable to get one large piece for the top, so we pieced together 4-2x4's to make the top.
I then used biscuits in between each board for more support.

After the top was glued, nailed and clamped, we sanded it down and it became so smooth it looked as if the top was one piece!

{Kashi sanding the top}

Next up was the legs.....this was interesting.  We measured and cut according to the plan, but once all the parts were laid out it was too short on one side, too long on the other!  I think I spent a good half hour playing Jenga with these pieces.  Other guys in the shop even came over and tried to figure out what was going on and we came to the big conclusion:

the plan was wrong.

WHAT!?

"Oh, it happens." they said.

Again...WHAT!? 

So we just recut a few parts and kept on building.  

Dori, from Finding Nemo, kept echoing in my head..."just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

{new legs glued and clamped}

{I used small nails & then filled everything in with putty}

I spent 4 hours one day sanding everything.  It was a daunting task, but Kashi said it was the most important part. :)

The next step was to put all the pieces together!

Kashi said it would be a good idea to use screws to reinforce the glue and I didn't argue.  I made wood plugs to hide the holes.

Finally...the drawer.  It was the most difficult part of the build, but it's done!

 and after three weeks it's finally done and in our place!

{ta-da}

 I'm now in the process of deciding what color to paint it.  A final reveal will come soon!