Home projects

Creating an office out of a small room by utilising built-in furniture, floating shelves and a tidy charging station makes space-saving sense

- NIKKI KETTLE

The word custom always sounds expensive to me, but it doesn't have to be. Maximising a small space with built-in or custom furniture is a no-brainer. It could be a desk, floating shelves or charging station to use at home in a small bedroom, unused hall cupboard, nook or wardrobe.

Before building, ensure the walls and ceiling are painted or papered ahead of adding a built-in desk and installing any shelves. I painted the wall in Resene SpaceCote Flat in Resene Mineshaft and the ceiling is papered in Resene Wallpaper Collection 91273.

You will need 

• Resene Aquaclear clear waterborne sealer

• Primer, I used Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer undercoat

• Paint colours of choice for charging station. I used Resene Enamacryl in Resene Atlas 

• Sandpaper 

• Circular saw

• Measuring tape

• Pencil

• Level

• Drill and drill bits

• Threaded rod or similar cut to 200mm long

• Construction glue (optional)

• Screws

• Pine batten measuring 20mm x 40mm to support the desk 

• Sheet of panelling for desk. This could be thick ply or pine. I used 2400mm x 600mm x 26mm piece of plywood with an oak veneer 

• Large hole saw bit and cord tidy (from office supply store to feed cords through) 

• Basic set of drawers. I used a set of bamboo drawers for the charging station

Built-in desk 

1 Measure the area where you want the desk and shelves to be, marking the studs and drawing level lines.