AMAZON CRAFT DESK HACK ON A BUDGET
If you’re in the market to DIY your own tall craft desk you’ve likely seen all the GORGEOUS Ikea tall craft tables that are on Pinterest. Oh boy are they so pretty and clean looking! I have found myself almost drooling over them the last few months.
The thing is my current craft space is just temporary. We moved into a beautiful old home a few months back so until we get my she shed up outside I have taken over a way too beautiful to craft in sitting room. Everything I put up in there is just a for now thing, not permanent.
I just needed a space to create all of my craft tutorials to share with you all here on my blog.
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Of course this frugal momma didn’t want to spend too much money on a craft table that may or may not fit into the she shed once it’s done.
That’s a pic of daughter #2 making the first project after the rolling craft desk was complete. She approved! This is a real view of what my craft space will look like and what you don’t see in my crafty DIY tutorials. The lights, microphone, and all the cords.
Here’s how I made a SUPER BUDGET friendly tall craft table
What I used to make my roll away craft table
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3/4” plywood – this was scrap plywood leftover from a job my husband did
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2” heavy duty castor wheels ( I bought 2 packages, totally 8 castor wheels)
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leftover white paint
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leftover sealant
Tools I used
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paint brush for sealant ( I used a SUPER CHEAP one for this since I don’t keep them after I use them on sealants)
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measuring tape
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brad nails
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screws
1.ASSMEBLE THE 9 CUBE ORGANIZERS
My tips for this step. When I purchased mine they were around $40 per organizer. I don’t have pictures of this step. I was so excited to get them built I completely spaced taking pics.
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read the instructions completely prior to assembling, but if you’re anything like me you probably won’t lol!
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use an impact (it looks like a drill but it’s a little different, it has screwdriver bits that fit into it instead of drill bits) to get the screw in properly, a screwdriver really sucks for this
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enjoy a glass of wine while you build these, again trust me you will need one lol!!
This next step is only necessary if you want to have a moveable craft desk. This is something that was a must for me as I’m always needing space to work on bigger projects.
2. ATTACH THE CASTOR WHEELS
Again, I didn’t take pictures because I was SO darn excited to get them done. You want to attach 4 castor wheels onto each 9 cube organizer, two on each end of the organizers. When I purchased mine they were about $14 per set of 4 castor wheels. And they are GREAT QUALITY. I was very impressed.
I HIGHLY suggest attaching a piece of wood to the inside of the cubby on the bottom shelf of each end so that your castor screws will have something to grab. I didn’t do this for the first cubby and I really wish I would have. The screws poked through the bottom cubbies and it’s kind of ugly now. I didn’t make the same mistake on the second one though.
I recommend shooting a brad nail through the wood just to keep it from moving when you start screwing the castor wheels on. This worked great for me when I attached the second set of castors.
3.CUT YOUR PLYWOOD
Measure out how big of a work space you want. Keep in mind that if it’s too wide you’ll need something to brace it on the underneath side of your craft table.
I used some leftover 3/4” plywood my husband brought home off of a jobsite. I cut 3 pieces to 47.5” in length and it seemed to work out perfectly. Almost like it was meant to go on my rolling craft table. I used my miter saw to cut these to length.
If you want to know what power tools I recommend for crafters check out this post.
4.SAND
I used my Ryobi orbit sander and just lightly went over the plywood. Just enough to give it a smooth surface.
5. ATTACH THE PLYWOOD
I know there are a lot of different ways to do this step but this is what I did and it worked great for me.
I was sure to lock the castor wheel before starting this step. Then I measured to find the middle of one of my 9 cube organizers.
Using my brad nailer I attached the ends of my skinniest board to the edge. This is basically just to tack down the plywood so it doesn’t go anywhere till you can get the screws in.
Then I lined up the other 9 cube organizer and did the same thing. Once those were down I attached the wider pieces, one on each side of the skinniest piece.
I used a drill to make small pilot holes, those are holes that help you get your screw into the wood easier. I just used whatever screws I had on had that were long enough to go through the plywood and into the 9 cube organizer. Ignore how not straight the screw and drill are. It was incredibly difficult to take this pic myself so I said ‘good enough pic for me’ lol!
5.PAINT
I used a leftover white paint we used in the house to paint the top of my rolling craft desk. I applied two coats, letting them dry in between coats.
6.SEAL
It’s a good idea to apply a sealant to the top of your workspace. I just used whatever I had on hand mainly because this isn’t a long term desk for my craft space. If I were to buy a sealant I don’t think I would use this specific one because it did yellow the white a little bit but it does work for sealing the paint and keeping the surface of the craft table wipeable and cleanup-able.
All and all I spent around $110 to make this. I’m not factoring in the materials I already had on hand. I know technically money was spent on those somewhere down the line but it’s hard telling when, where, and how much was spent so I just left out.
It’s far from perfect but it certainly works for my crafty space.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you have any questions please leave them in the comments below
Happy Crafting!
