need to dress up a desk design

ps

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

She will be moving a lot in the next few years so I will be built to come apart for ease of moving.

Re: need to dress up a desk design

Barry Irby

I am not a designer, at least not for style, engineering maybe but not so much on style.

I like it.

I made one vaguely similar for my son to use as a gaming station. My mistake was that I made it about the equivalent of Ikea. Looking back I should have made it better and nicer and tougher. It's important to him and I did not see it that way.

So, I agree with the ease of disassembly. One change I might make is to combine the bottom two drawers in one unit to make a file drawer. However, that may be showing my age, paper files are going away. Still, a big drawer may still be useful.

Re: need to dress up a desk design

Garthfromsandiego

Maybe just a small cove around each drawer front? Simple, but adds some texture.

Rectilinear...

Jim Matthews

What if the sides of each drawer "column" had a taper?

Re: need to dress up a desk design

Clint Searl

Re: need to dress up a desk design

Wiley Horne

Bill,

You always do something special for drawer fronts.

Suggestion: whatever you do for the drawer fronts, you might emulate in the main center section of the top; surround the center section with quartered wood of the same species, mitered at the corners I suppose; and use ebony stringing to divide the center section from the quartered surround.

One other thing she might appreciate, would be a built in power strip, and maybe built in UBS strip of the proper voltage/amperage output. Would minimize the usual power cord/cable forest.

Wiley

Questions

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

Bill, how old is your granddaughter? Can she articulate what designs she likes? Show her some styles: Shaker, Mid Century Danish, etc. Would she like curved drawer fronts? How about a drawer set into the desk top?

I would be looking at the whole design, rather than just the drawer fronts.

Regards from Perth

Derek

^^^^THIS^^^^^

kneale brownson

You like inlay work, I believe. Maybe granddaughter's name included?

Re: Questions

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

At least for the next 4 years the only part of this desk that will be observable will be the front. It was decided that the front will be like the front of her other furniture, a bull nose on the case edges. There is no design space left except the appearance of the drawer fronts. The size and shape of the drawers are not accommodating to line and berry inlay patterns.

Re: Questions - echoing

Henry (Raleigh NC)

I wrote most of this before I saw your answers to Derek...

----

Agree with Derek.

Much of this depends on the phrase 'bull nosed to match existing furniture' (or similar). If that match of existing furniture is important then design space is considerably narrowed. If bull nosing is the only element that needs to match, then the space opens up a lot.

You are starting with a stack of boxes, but even that offers design options. Treated more like a dresser, these stacks could be lifted from the floor on a base with short legs. Taller moldings forming the base, with moldings having non-rectilinear cutouts? That changes drawer dimensions, of course.

Asking her about design and aesthetics, beyond function, could be one source of ideas. What does she like (when shown 10 pics of various desks, and Clint posted several above), or dislike - and can she identify specific elements that appeal?

Also my first thought when I read your post, and before I read any other responses, was that inlay was definitely in your wheel house; that would definitely dress up drawer fronts. Could be simple or complicated, could be top drawers only, or all of them. Could be one image carried across multiple drawer fronts, or a repeated image/pattern.

- A simple leaf pattern on top corner of each drawer (outside corner on each bank),

- a fleur-de-lis,

- a maple leaf (showing my country colors here), or a leaf of the species of wood used

- the outline of her home state (some much easier but maybe not recognizable; NC is more difficult but is recognizable)

- her name in script (maybe just one drawer)

- or any meaningful symbol for her

These can be subtle details and need not be super contrasting species (if I recall correctly mixed species furniture isn't to your taste). Could be just a darker/lighter pieces of the same species (sapwood in walnut or cherry?).

Also side panels off er some room for embellished design, but can often be hidden in placement.

Just a few notions. Hope that helps.

Henry

Drawer handles

Ellis Walentine

A plywood desk with router roundovers on the edges is a blank slate. One way to add interest would be to have some unique drawer handles, maybe even a set of handles that are somehow complementary. Try doodling some possibilities.

A few other things came to mind as I looked at your design:

* If you're not using drawer slides, keep the drawer action loose.

* Don't forget to install sturdy kickers for those pull-out writing surfaces.

* 20" is pretty narrow for a kneehole -- okay for a youngster, I suppose, but maybe worth reconsidering.

* Drawer units are called "pedestals" in the industry. And they usually contain at least one file drawer.

* Consider an articulating keyboard tray mechanism that pulls out, swivels and tilts, as opposed to a simple tray. I personally like keyboard arms that have an extension on the right for a mouse pad. This is a major improvement over having to move your hand a lot when working at a computer.

* If this is exclusively a child's desk, you might want to drop the overall height a bit.

* Build a pencil tray into one of the upper box drawers.

Ellis

Re: Questions - echoing

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

A simple leaf pattern on top corner of each drawer (outside corner on each bank),

I had been mulling that option with a string border but had not mocked it up yet.

The risk on dressing up the drawers is going to be to avoid too much dressing or over dressing for the occasion. This desk is going out to eat dinner at the local bistro, not the symphony ball.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Re: Drawer handles

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

* If you're not using drawer slides, keep the drawer action loose...... I have learned to make all wood drawers that work as well as ball bearing. No concern here.

* Don't forget to install sturdy kickers for those pull-out writing surfaces....good point. Who knows what may be set on it.

* 20" is pretty narrow for a kneehole -- various chairs were measured and this will do with some to spare

* Drawer units are called "pedestals" in the industry. And they usually contain at least one file drawer.....it was demanded that the pedestals be symmetric. Hence, not room for file drawer

* Consider an articulating keyboard tray mechanism .....will have to study this product. No experience on this part

* If this is exclusively a child's desk, you might want to drop the overall height a bit....desk for the ages. And, she is already 2" higher than mother and grandmother. She will wind up as tall as I am.

* Build a pencil tray into one of the upper box drawers.....Good plan. I may hand off to her father to add these features.

Re: need to dress up a desk design

jessecloud

I wouldn't to any build-ins (power strip, usb and such). Things change quickly in this computer edge. You would be likely to build something that will soon be outdated. Keep it simple.

Even just a simple line rectangle on each drawer would jazz it up considerably.

Re: Drawer handles

Barry Irby

You mentioned the desk will be moving a few times over the next few years.

I would make the top a flat panel that will lay on top of the drawer pedestals and the keyboard tray will be either hung from the drawer pedestals or at least easily detached to keep shipping easy.

As far as drawer handles go, consider they will be bumpers during a move. Perhaps recess the drawer fronts into the cases enough to protect them or make them as bullet proof as you can.

handles

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

As Ellis said, handles could move the looks from pedestrian to special. But I am terrible at designing handles. Never-the-less I am thinking about handles, but probably to no good end. .

Still...

Jim Matthews

"This desk is going out to eat dinner at the local bistro, not the symphony ball."

Still, sometimes a Girl just wants to wear something lacy.

Re: handles

Sgian Dubh

Bill, if you expect frequent moves handles that stick out can catch on things, get damaged, or perhaps broken off.

So, maybe you could dispense with pulls altogether and simply bore a hole in the top edge of each drawer as a finger pull. For example, if using a 30 mm (~1-3/16") diameter Forstner type bit set the centre point of the bit approximately 10 mm (3/8") down from the drawer front's top edge. A piece of scrap wood clamped to or pushed up tight to the drawers front's top edge prevents spelch where the rim of the bit exits and enters that edge. Slainte.