As part of my daughter’s recent bedroom makeover, I knew she needed a good place to study and do homework. The butcher block desk we added has been perfect, she can spread out and it looks beautiful in her room.
I bought this maple butcher block from Floor & Decor (Here). If you don’t have a Floor & Decor nearby, you can order them from most home stores. Here is a link to one that is a great value from Home Depot.
My butcher block was 25″ deep. I needed it to be just a bit narrower so I took off a few inches with my table saw. Before I made that cut, I drilled a 1/2″ hole along my cut line so that I would be left with a semi-circle for cords from my wall sconces to come through.
I screwed 2×4’s into her wall for the desk to sit on. The 2×4’s were much larger than I really needed but I had them on hand. I intended to attach the desk to the 2×4’s with pocket screws coming from the bottom, but it fit so well that I didn’t end up needing to do that.
You can see in the photo below, I put a V notch for our sconce cords to come through.
One end of her butcher block desk butts up to a wall and the other side of her desk is next to her bed. I added a small support to her bed so that both ends were well supported.
I put in 2″ grommets for her lamp, computer and charger cords to come through and then mounted a power strip under her desk to keep everything powered. We even added an Alexa plug (https://amzn.to/2KB19fk) for her sconce lights so she can turn them on and off from bed. These are the grommets I used from Amazon (https://amzn.to/2S9akrg). You’ll need one of these boring bits to install them (https://amzn.to/2Y1bJEh).
My older daughter’s room makeover is in the works, but I have installed her butcher block desk. She didn’t have a wall for support on both sides, so I added this leg for support. It can be found on Amazon (https://amzn.to/2xcjOuO).
Once in place, I used tung oil to finish the wood. I’d never used tung oil before but I’m now a fan. It was so easy to use and I loved how it brought out the natural wood colors. I used this Minwax brand that I bought from Amazon (https://amzn.to/2y1yihg). A pint was plenty for two coats on two desks. Before the oil, I used steel wool to lightly sand the wood. I prefer synthetic steel wool so that I don’t get little steel shards all over (https://amzn.to/3eS2rAg).
I poured the oil directly from the can onto the wood and used an old rag to rub it in. Let it sit for 24 hours and then rub it with steel wool and put on another layer of oil. Once that had dried I smoothed it all of with one more wipe of the steel wool. It’s now a super hard and smooth surface to work on!
We added the white/bulletin boards (https://amzn.to/3cR3lLt) and charging station and she’s all set! Get more details on this bedroom makeover below!
I’d love to answer any questions you might have! You can save this butcher block desk idea to Pinterest with the graphic below. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links where I earn a small commission if you make a purchase. I would only link products that I personally use and recommend!
