We’re going behind the build today with one of our most popular DIY projects to date.. my diy custom office built ins!! I’ve already shared about the office bultin-ins here, and here if you want to take a look at the other posts! This project was the first of many that we tackled to take our builder grade home from basic to custom on a budget. I loved every minute of this office (we’ve since sold this home and are in the middle of a whole home renovation, more on that to come!) Shop our most used DIY tools here.
My Initial Built In Desk With Shelves Idea:
These screenshots from Pinterest were some of the initial inspiration we used when making plans for our DIY Built Ins! I found the sources and linked them below each image in case you want to deep dive into those amazing designer accounts!
Craftsman Office Built Ins Ideas:
Image Source, Design by Scout & Nimble & Photo by Alyssa Rosenheck
The Office Before:
Behind The Build: The Process
All built-ins really are (and cabinets for that matter) are plywood boxes, with face frames attached. Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that. But once you start to understand the guts/behind the scenes of how to build, you really can tackle any woodworking project with some time and effort. Everything we know, we learned by searching the internet!
If you’re visual like we are, taping the space really helped ensure that we had the right proportions. You can see some of the paint colors we tested below for the office built-ins.
Once the boxes were built, and the drawers added, we started attaching the fame framing. As mentioned in our other blog post, in the future we chose to use a wood material instead of MDF, there is pro’s and con’s of each. Lots of wood filler and sanding during this phase.
Box molding trim up on the walls, and first coat of primer on. We also cased out the windows with trim to give the office a craftsman syle.
The After: DIY Built Ins With Shelves
The desk you see in the office is another DIY project of ours! (as well as the shelves!) All materials were purchased at Home Depot.
Eventually I switched the desk back to the other side, I preferred looking out the windows! And sadly my West Elm chair had seen better days so I went with this more ergonomic option.
This is just the beginning of our Builder To Custom Series, stick around for more!
Office Built Ins Project Sources:
- Shop our most used DIY tools here
- Budget-Friendly 12″ Brass Pulls – They are beautiful, easy to install, and have held up well!
- White Bottom Baskets – Love these, used them in my living room built ins as well!
- White Bottom Vases – These are a DIY of a designer vase.
- Quote Sign “You are my son, my moon, and all my stars.” – We have these in several rooms!
- Gallery Wall Frames – Mostly Target! They have really great options for gallery wall frames right now!
- Comfy Chair – I LOVE having this chair in my office, fantastic price and love the company!
- White Dipped Stools – We use these everywhere!! Great for a drink while snuggled up on said chair.
- 7’x10′ Riverton Hand Woven Striped Area Rug Tan – Set up notifications so you can snag it when it is in stock!
If I missed anything you want linked, leave a comment!
