Repurposed Bar Stool Desk

Repurpose free or unused bar stools to build a simple industrial looking desk. Minimal materials are needed and the desk can be tailored to fit your unique space.

A neighbor of ours was getting rid of wooden bar stools, and although we didn't need additional stools for seating, I knew we could use these for another project, that's the beauty of free stuff, you be free to experiment with them because it's really no loss to you to do so. The stools did not match the wood colors I was using throughout my house, so I simply painted them black before I started the project. If you paint, make sure you sand and prime to get an even durable finish. Find some nice tall bar stools because you'll want your final desk height to be about 30" tall.

Materials:

- 2 Bar Stools (at least 29" tall)

- 3/4" or thicker piece of wood for the desk top (we used a free solid core door)

- 1x4 Trim Pieces (the length will depend on the size of your desk top)

- 3/4" wood for shelves (optional)

- Wood Glue

- 1" - 2" Brad Nails

- Sand Paper

- Paint or Stain

Tools:

- Tape Measure

- Pencil

- Circular Saw

- Rip Cut Guide

- Miter Saw or Table Saw

- Brad Nailer

- Sander

- Safety Equipment

First, measure the space you have for your desk and the size of the stools you have. These two measurements will determine how large you will make your desk top.

You can make the desk top deeper than the width of the stools, just be sure the stools will properly support the top. Our desk top was only slightly deeper than the width of the stools so we did not have to attach the top to the stools. It's just set on top. But, if your top is a lot deeper you may need to attach the stools to the top to stabilize it.

The desk can be as long as you want. The desk top material will determine the maximum length. You will not have any center supports, so make sure the thickness of your desk top is adequate for the length you want. We used a free 2" thick solid core door for ours, and could have used the full 7' length if it had fit for our space. But, a 3/4" piece of plywood is plenty thick for a nice long desk, especially with the 1x4" trim pieces that will be added next.

For the trim pieces, measure and cut the side trim first and attach, then measure and cut the front and back trim. You can attach these with wood glue and brad nails. If your edges don't match up perfectly, because, like us, you used the 1x4 furring strips that are cheap but never straight, you can fill the gaps with wood filler and sand it down. This is a perfect solution if you are painting, if you are staining, the filler may be a little more noticeable because it won't stain the exact same color, but, it's better than gaps.

As a last optional step, you can use 3/4" wood to make side shelves. This utilizes the stool supports and gives you extra storage space! When you measure for the shelves, make sure to measure 3/4" up from the support because the legs probably angle in and the shelf won't fit if you cut it according to the measurements of the supports.

Sand and finish how you like, and enjoy an affordable solution for your home office!