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Pinspired to DIY

Pinspired to DIY

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Upcycle an Oak Desk into Rolling File Cabinets

Indoor Furniture, Office, Woodworking

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If you have read any of my recent posts, you will have seen my recent DIY Home Office Remodel, which is one of our many DIY projects we finished or started to keep ourselves productive and sane while being on lock-down at home due to COVID-19.  And, productive we have been! 🙂   In my last post, I shared the makeover of my 4 drawer file cabinet. Today I’m sharing another one of the office-related projects I did as part of the remodel process.   If you read the office remodel post, you’ll know I had purchased hubs two ergonomic sit/stand desks as gifts  over the course of the previous year, but we hadn’t assembled them as we knew the office was going to get a renovation and we were waiting for the completion of the office before setting them up.  These are the desks I had purchased for hubs:

 

As you can see, there are no drawers on these sit/stand desks. Hubs previous desk was a hand-me-down executive oak desk we got from my parents. It had 3 drawers on each side in addition to a drawer in the center. See how I upcycled an oak desk into rolling file cabinets so hubs can roll these under his new desks to store all the stuff from his old desk!

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Tools & Supplies

  • Executive Desk (these can be found on Facebook Marketplace or Craiglist for cheap if you don’t already have one)
  • 1/2 sheet of 3/4″ cabinet grade plywood
  • 2 – 1x3s @ 8′
  • 1 – 1×4 @ 8′
  • Drill/Driver
  • Circular Saw
  • Kreg jig
  • 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws
  • Nail gun
  • 2″ brad nails
  • Wood Glue
  • Measuring tape
  • Heirloom Traditions Paint in Iron Gate (black)
  • Chalk paint brush
  • 4″ foam paint roller handle
  • 4″ foam roller refills
  • Casters

Instructions for Upcycling an Oak Desk into Rolling File Cabinets

I unfortunately did not get an image of the desk with all the drawers in it before we removed it from the office, but here is a pic of the desk, minus the drawers:

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

The first step in converting the desk was to remove the top. The top piece was held on by small metal brackets and screws. I removed the screws, then the brackets, and then the top lifted right off.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle
Unscrew the small metal brackets holding on the top of the desk
DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Next, I removed the center back board using a mallet and chisel (just make sure not to damage the wood on the side board of the drawer unit).

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Once the back center board has been removed, you should have two separate drawer units. Now is a good time to remove the drawer rails on the inside side of each drawer unit by removing the screws attaching the rails to the wood.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle
DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Now, off to the shop! The next step was to add the support boards to the bottom of the inside of the drawer units to attach the casters to. I measured the inside width of the drawer unit bottom and cut a 1×3 board to that width for the front and back of each drawer unit. I then used my Kreg Jig to drill two 3/4″ pocket holes into each end of one side of each board.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

I then used 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws to attach one of the 1×3 boards to the inside front bottom and inside back bottom of each cabinet.

Now, time to build a top for each drawer unit. First I measured the length and width of the top of each drawer unit. I wanted my top to be even with the back and sides of the unit, but to overlap the front by a 1/2″.

I cut the front and back 1×3 boards first, cutting them to a length that is equal to the width of the top of the drawer units.

Next, I cut the 1×3 boards for the sides of the top. For those, I measured the length of the top of the drawer cabinets and added 1/2″ for the 1/2″ overlap I wanted for the top at the front. I then took that length, and subtracted out the width of the front and back 1×3 boards (should be 2 1/2″ for each board, so 5″ total), and that will give you the length you should cut the side 1×3 boards to. I used my Kreg jig to drill two 3/4″ pocket holes on each end of one side of each side top board.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Now, time to cut the center board for the top piece. Using a circular saw, cut a piece of 3/4″ cabinet grade plywood to the dimensions needed to fit in the frame you built for the top piece (the width of the plywood should be the overall width of the top, minus the 5″ total width of the two side boards, and the length should be equal to the length of the two 1×3 side top frame boards. Use the Kreg jig to drill three 3/4″ pocket holes on each long side of one side of the board, and then drill two 3/4″ pocket holes into each short end.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Use wood glue and 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws to attach the center board to the frame boards, and then to attach the frame boards together.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Next, use wood glue and 2″ brad nails to attach the assembled top board to the top of the drawer unit. (Note that my drawer units have a pull out board to use as a writing surface or an extra work space, that has to be in place prior to attaching the top, otherwise you won’t be able to get it into place once the top is on).

DIY Executive Desk upcycle
DIY Executive Desk upcycle
DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Once the tops were attached, I filled in all holes and any dents or imperfections in the wood with wood filler and let dry completely. Once the wood filler was dry, I sanded down all surfaces of the cabinets until smooth and even.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle
DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Next, I placed both cabinets on their sides and attached the casters to the 1×3 boards that I previously attached to the inside bottom of the cabinets.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

Once the casters are on, its time for paint. Since Hubs’ new desks are black, I decided to paint the two rolling file cabinets that I created from his old desk in black as well so they blend with the new desks. I used the 4″ foam roller to apply the first two coats of Heirloom Traditions paint in Iron Gate (black). I then used the chalk paint brush for the 3rd coat and used the stippling technique to get the final, smooth finish.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

I then repeated this process to paint each of the drawer fronts.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle

I repeated this process for the second cabinet and drawer fronts, and then once dry, I moved both cabinets into their home in our remodeled office. My original plan was to store them underneath the new desks, but hubs decided that for now, he wanted them against the shiplap wall, next to the newly madeover file cabinet.

DIY Executive Desk upcycle
DIY Executive Desk upcycle
DIY Executive Desk upcycle
DIY Executive Desk upcycle

So, don’t throw out that old desk, instead upcycle it into another useful piece of furniture (or two!). Now to figure out what to make out of the top of the old executive desk….. Any ideas??

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About Christine

Christine

Christine

Pinspired to DIY
Hi! I'm Christine, a full-time working wife and mom who loves to create, craft, and build! I love woodworking, DIY home improvement and DIY home decor and sharing all my projects here on my blog! Make sure to sign up for the newsletter to be notified of new projects posted on the blog!

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Front porch renovation in progress!  New door - check! New windows- check!  Now need to add trim and siding... need more days in each weekend!  More to come... #homeremodeling #frontporch #diyprojects #diyrenovation #diyremodel #renovationproject #moretocome #pinspiredtodiy #entryway #entrywayrenovation

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Aug 16

Open
Another quarantine home project complete!  Since we had to cancel our planned trip to celebrate my daughter’s birthday and Spring Break,  we did a complete makeover of her bedroom instead.  See the before and after! #diyhomeimprovement #oneroomchallenge #tweengirlsroom #diyremodel #roommakeover #girlsroomdecor #tealroom #pinspiredtodiy

pinspiredtodiy

View

Jun 2

Open
Have a standing desk with no drawers?  Use an old executive desk to create rolling drawer units that fit underneath your drawer-less standing desk!  #standingdesk #diyoffice #upcycledfurniture #furnituremakeover #deskmakeover #diyfurnituremakeover  #pinspiredtodiy

pinspiredtodiy

View

May 5

Open
Working at home due to Covid-19? Might as well make your workspace as enjoyable as possible!  Our home office was quite drab so we decided to renovate it into a beautiful place to work!  Check it out! #remodel #remodeling #homeoffice #homeofficedesign #officeupdate #homeimprovement #homeimprovements #beforeandafterhomeedition

pinspiredtodiy

View

Jan 4

Open
Took a break from blogging for a short while, but I’m back up and running!  Soon to be posted on the blog: I purchased this computer armoire on Craigslist for $60 and transformed it into the perfect craft cabinet for my Cricut!  Love that I have my own little space to work that I can then hide away when not in use!  Blends in perfectly with my other furniture!  #cricutstorage #craftcabinet #upcycledfurniture #heirloomtraditionspaint #nocraftroom #craftorganization #craftdesk #furnituremakeover #furnitureflip #pinspiredtodiy

pinspiredtodiy

View

Sep 7

Open
Finally got my August #athomediychallenges project posted on the blog! This challenge was to build something using mostly 2x4s and challenge accomplished.  I built a DIY Planter Box Bench Seat for the backyard.  You can download the free plans over on the blog now!  #woodworking #diyfurniture #outdoorbench #outdoorplanter #girlbuilt #outdoorfurniture #pinspiredtodiy

pinspiredtodiy

View

Aug 31

Open
Built these Pottery Barn inspired end tables last month for the July #athomediychallenge The goal was to build something cheaper than you can buy it. Challenge accomplished!  You can find the free plans for these over on the website now.  #woodworking #wood #build #girlbuilt #diy #diyfurniture #freewoodworkingplans #pinspiredtodiy #potterybarninspired

pinspiredtodiy

View

Jul 25

Open
My latest project posted on the blog.  I used a mix of my two favorite hobbies to create these personalized large wall signs for my entryway: woodworking and Cricut-ing (ok, I know Cricut-ing isn’t a real word but hey, it works! 😂) Made these for the July At Home DIY challenge.  Check out this tutorial and all the other great projects created by the challenge participants over on the blog!  #athomediychallenges #woodworking #cricutcraft #cricutproject #diywalldecor #diywallart #cricutvinylprojects

pinspiredtodiy

View

May 16

Open
The #athomediychallenges post for May is live on the blog!  This month we had to tackle an eyesore in our yard and make it beautiful.  I chose to tackle one of the area around my pool, pulling a LOT of weeds and adding brick garden borders/planter boxes. Still not completely done, but still a huge improvement! #diyhomeprojects #diyhomeimprovement #diylandscaping #planterbox #gardenborder

pinspiredtodiy

View

May 11

Open
On a Cricut roll!  Several flowers complete, several more to go! #cricut #cricutflowers #mothersdaygifts #craftingideas #springcolors

pinspiredtodiy

View

Apr 25

Open
@abba_patio provided me with this awesome 10x13 fully enclosed gazebo in exchange for my honest review.  Check out my review of this shade canopy, including pros and cons of this gazebo, over on my website now! #abbapatio #abbapatiocanopy #productreviewer #gazebo #shadestructure
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