How to build a sturdy, pivoting custom-made desk for 39 euros?

You have set up a video wall but you are missing a surface to place your keyboard, mouse and documents close to the screens? No need to buy an overpriced command desk. With a few melamine boards and a bit of DIY, you can build a custom-made desk, on casters and genuinely solid, for just 39 euros. Here is the recipe used by Easy Multi Display.

The list of materials (39 euros in total)

Everything can be found at a large DIY store and at Action:

• 2 white melamine panels, 18 mm thick: one P1 panel of 2.50 m x 0.60 m and one P2 panel of 2.50 m x 0.30 m. Count around 32 euros, cut to size in store.
• 4 swivel casters with 360 degree rotation: around 2 euros at Action.
• 10 metal assembly brackets: around 2 euros at Action.
• 1 can of white spray paint for the finishing touches: around 3 euros at Action.

The 18 mm melamine is the right compromise: thick enough to be rigid and support the weight of a keyboard and an operator’s forearms, while remaining easy to assemble with simple brackets.

The cuts to request

The easiest approach is to have the cuts made directly at the store’s cutting counter. Here are the pieces to obtain from the two panels:

• From panel P1: 2 sections of 60 cm x 70 cm.
• From panel P1: 2 sections of 108 cm x 30 cm.
• From panel P2: 2 sections of 66.4 cm x 30 cm.

These pieces form the base, the sides and the work surface of the desk. By having them cut on site, you leave with a set of clean boards at the correct dimensions, ready to assemble.

Assembly step by step

1. Assemble the structure by fixing the panels together with the 10 metal brackets. The brackets, screwed into the interior angles, ensure the rigidity of the whole without any complicated hardware.
2. Fit the 4 swivel casters under the base. Thanks to their 360 degree rotation, the desk moves and pivots in every direction: handy for repositioning it in front of the video wall or storing it away.
3. Apply the white spray paint on the edges and finishing areas for a clean and even result, matching the white melamine.

The result

You end up with a mobile, stable and attractive command desk, perfectly suited to a crisis room or an operator station in front of a wall of screens. All for 39 euros, where equivalent professional furniture costs several hundred euros. This is exactly in the spirit of Easy Multi Display: simple, affordable and robust solutions, made for the field.

A question about this build? Write to guy@easymultidisplay.com.