DIY Space Saving Floating Double Desk

Today I'm sharing an idea for getting the most out of a small 8' x 10' bedroom that has been converted into a home office with multiple functions. The challenge for this room is creating two workstations plus a worktable without the room feeling cramped.



Another challenge is that we have a maximum budget of $400, limiting the option for furniture purchases. To accomplish these goals we built a wall-to-wall DIY space-saving floating double desk with two workstations and the room actually feels larger now.



A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

DIY Wall Mount Double Desk

It all started in March during lockdown we decided to spend our time stuck indoors painting the interior walls of our home. Of course, it didn't stop there and every room ended up getting a mini-makeover with a maximum budget of $400 per room.



To see the home office makeover reveal and the other room makeovers you can catch up here on our Budget Home Improvements page. It includes the DIY home decor projects for each room as well.



The function of the two new workstations is that one is designated as a computer desk and the other a craft zone with a permanent home for my Cricut Maker.



A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

Having one long wall-mounted desk rather than two regular desks really opened up this space and it's quite comfortable to work in. Rather than drawers, everything is accessible and easy to reach with wall mount office storage systems.



We also modified an old boarding house writing desk into a handy Farmhouse Style Worktable (not pictured) to match the built-in desk. It will sit between both workstations to use as a portable sewing table, craft table or a place to set papers while hard at work.



What Else Could A Double Floating Desk Be Used For?

A dual floating desk would also be a handy for a shared children's room so each child has their own homework station, especially useful with so many doing virtual learning right now. It would also be great in a kid's playroom for arts and crafts. In a sewing room it offers a station for the sewing machine and one for a serger.



A space-saving DIY floating desk with two workstations by Interior Frugalista, perfect for a home office, kids bedroom, or homeschool room. Includes easy to follow instructions on how to build it. A budget-friendly desk idea!

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to build the dual floating desk, almost all of the DIY projects shared here at Interior Frugalista have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.


How To Build A Double Floating Desk

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.



Floating Desk Wall Bracket Installation

We measured 28 3/4 inches from the floor for the pine 1" x 2" wall brackets. First checking to make sure the line was level, then the supports were secured to the wall with 2 1/2-inch wood screws in the wall studs.



A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

DIY Center Support Shelving Unit

To support the 10-foot long desk in the center we designed a small shelving unit to house the sewing machine and my laptop when not in use. You'll notice in the photo below that we didn't build it the same 24-inch depth as the desk and we did this for two reasons.



One, the items stored towards the back would be difficult to access, especially so low to the ground. The second reason is for the power cords to pass through from one desk to the other and have the power bar concealed behind it. In hindsight, we could have gone 14 inches for a little extra depth.



Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the building process because Mr. Frugalista had the shelving unit built before I had the chance to take photos. You can get a good idea of how it was put together from the photo below.



Floating Desk Specs

Here are the specs for building the desk and I hope you find them helpful.

  • Built with 3/4-inch MDF, wood glue, and particle board screws.
  • The shelving unit is 20" wide x 10" deep (regrettably wish we had gone 14")
  • The bottom shelf is 16-inches high and the top shelf 7 1/2-inches high.
  • The curve on the bottom skirt profile was traced from a mason jar and cut with a jigsaw.
  • A hardboard back was attached later with 3/4-inch finishing nails.


A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

Floating Desk Wooden Top

The top of the desk is made with two 5-foot pieces of 3/4-inch aspen plywood with a 24-inch depth, butted together in the center of the shelving unit. It is set and glued on top of the wall supports and attached to the middle shelving support.



The exposed front edge of the plywood is finished with 1" x 2" maple trim routered with a quarter-round router bit. It's attached with wood glue and 2-inch wood nails that are countersunk and filled with wood filler.



Now that the desktop is installed, the wood was sanded smooth with 150 grit sandpaper and followed with 220 grit. After wiping the top with a damp cloth and removing any fine dust particles with a tack cloth, the top was brushed with a coat of Minwax water-based pre-stain wood conditioner.



A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

Now it's time for the fun part, the finishing touches.



The shelving unit is painted with three coats of Pure White Behr Ultra Semi-Gloss Latex Paint.



A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

On the wood top, I used my favorite water-based gel stains to create a weathered grey finish. It dries fast so I worked in rows, starting from one end to the other with the grain of the wood. First I applied a thin coat of White Magic gel stain with a microfiber detailing applicator. After an hour I applied another thin coat.



Once the white stain was dry I applied a thin coat of Up In Smoke gel stain, followed by a second coat another hour later. The grey was looking a little too dark so I thinned some white magic to a milk-like consistency.



Again working in sections, I applied the thinned white gel stain and immediately wiped it with a lint-free rag to remove the excess. This toned down the dark grey nicely.



What We Would Have Done Differently

I could have avoided that final step had I immediately wiped the second coat of grey stain while it was wet.



Now we're ready to protect the weathered stained finish but you should wait at least an hour after applying the last coat of stain. I let mine dry overnight.



A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

The following day I lightly sanded the stained top with 220-grit sandpaper before applying my favorite satin clear coat applied with a sponge applicator. I applied the second coat an hour later.



A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

Last but not least a round hole was cut with a hole saw drill bit in the back center of each workstation for a power cord desk grommet.



A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

I've been using both workstations for a couple of weeks now and I absolutely love the new setup. I have so many work surfaces now for everything from computer work to crafting to sewing and even gift wrapping.



A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this handmade desk idea. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!



If you enjoyed this home office floating desk, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your DIY Desk Ideas or Home Office Ideas board on Pinterest.




A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions. #floatingdeskideas #wallmounteddesk #diyfurniture


A space-saving wall-to-wall DIY wall mounted home office floating desk with two workstations. Perfect for small spaces and budget-friendly home office desk idea with step-by-step instructions. #homeofficespace #diydesk

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Comments

  1. This is absolutely awesome. I love it and what a great way to make two office spaces in a small space. Beautiful Marie. Great job.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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    1. Thank you Kris, I'm thrilled how I have way more work surfaces and yet the room feels so much bigger. I was able to keep my lateral file cabinet and antique bookcase in the room without it feeling crowded. Now I'm getting those pegboards organized.

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  2. This is super practical and such an awesome idea! Have to pin this!

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    1. Thank you so much, Maya, I'm thrilled with my new work space. Appreciate the pin!

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  3. This is such a great idea. I'm going to share it with Gloria. They have a large loft area and one clunky desk and a makeshift table/desk for their work spaces. They need to do this.

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    1. Awesome, I hope this is just the solution they need for their space. I've been working in my new space for two weeks now and I absolutely love it. If they decide to do this and have any questions, I'd be happy to help.

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  4. WOW, that's a lot of space in a small space and it looks so cool too Marie.

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    1. I LOVE how spacious the room feels and how everything is at my fingertips. My voice almost echoes in this small room now. LOL

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  5. Absolutely so well done and thought out Marie. Hubs keeps telling me to give up a guest room for a warm office and your tempting me. Such a nice work space with everything organized and room to work. Pinning

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    1. Thank you Leanna, I am absolutely loving this bright spacious room! It was hard giving up a main floor guest room at first but working in a bright room with easy access to the coffee maker was a great decision. Now the guest bedroom is downstairs where there is more privacy and their own guest bathroom. Win win!

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  6. This looks great! I've been wanting to set up something similar for a homework station. Pinning to refer to later, thank you!!
    Pamela | DIY VIbes

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    1. Hi Pamela, so glad our floating desk may be inspiration for your homework station! It was a fairly easy project and we had it built and installed in a day. Thanks for the pin 😊

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  7. Love this! I want to do something similar in my upstairs landing, where I have my home office. There is space there to also make it a craft area. I pinned this and am now following you on Pinterest. Looking forward to the reveal!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Heidi, so glad to hear our floating desk inspired your upstairs landing space. I've been using the desk for a couple of weeks now and absolutely love it and hope you will too! Thanks for the pin and the follow 🤗

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  8. Wowzers!! This is amazing, Marie! You nailed it in so many ways.

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    1. Thank you so much sweet friend! xo I wish we had done this years ago, it's the perfect solution for small space living.

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  9. So the area where you pieces two parts together for the desk top as well as the trim on the front, does it leave a seam? How did you make sure that it was super flush? I love this idea and your tutorial will help me a bunch - but I want to make sure that there are no visible seams. My boys already get frustrated when drawing and coloring on our dining table that is a little bumpy. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, there are seams in the middle and the top of the desk where the trim butts against the top. However, if you make sure they are butted up completely flush with one another and then fill the joint with wood filler and sand perfectly smooth, those seams will hardly be noticeable. If you can buy one sheet of plywood the length of your wall and have a way to haul it, that's the ultimate option! Also instead of adding trim, you could use a router along the edge of the plywood for a nice profile. I hope this helps!

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  10. Marie, you have an awesome workspace! Love that long desk! Thanks for sharing your ideas :)

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    1. Thank you Cindy, I LOVE working in this space! It's the best decision we could have made for this small little bedroom turned home office.

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  11. Marie! Thank you for the inspiration. U have a guest bedroom that doubles as my craft room. This is exactly what I needed to make it all work! I absolutely love love love the black and white chair. Where did you get it??? Thank you so much!

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    1. I'm so happy to hear our floating desk idea gave you the answer you've been looking for to make your guest bedroom/craft room work. The black and white chair is a vintage armchair that we removed the arms and reupholstered. We have one more waiting to be redone to match.

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  12. Looks great. What did you do where the two plywood piece butt together?

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    Replies
    1. We butted the two pieces of plywood together, ensuring they were perfectly flush with one another. They are mounted from underneath with screws to the top of the shelving unit below as well as to the wall plate. Then we filled and sanded the joint. Another option to join the two pieces of plywood together would be to use a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. But the ultimate solution is to buy one sheet of plywood the length of your wall. Also, instead of adding decorative trim, you could router the edge of the plywood with a bullnose profile. I hope this helps!

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