Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jan 14, 2020 12:42 pm Hi all, I am looking at putting in a study nook in our place. I have space (with walls on 3 of the sides) that measures 2.6m. My question is - what material is best to use for the desk surface? I thought about using kitchen bench top material - but I would be really interested to know what material is usually used for something like a built in study nook? I usually see photos of the desktop with matching shelves etc all in the same material. My partner and I really like the look of the "thicker" bench tops. I would really appreciate if anyone else has done something like this or knows a good place to order the material. Thanks all Re: Built in Desk (study nook) material 2Jan 14, 2020 1:42 pm Hi Reformatted General rule of thumb is melamine for vertical surfaces and laminate (kitchen bench material) for horizontal surfaces because it is much harder wearing. However, when we make office furniture it's only made out of melamine board, because it is adequate for general light use like an office desk. We typically use 25mm for the tops and 16 or 18 for drawers and cabinets underneath. Laminate can be stuck to a variety of thicknesses of substrate. Melamine board also comes in a variety of thicknesses. The issue for you will be the span of 2600. If someone leans (or sits on the bench) it will put a lot of stress on it. Any sort of top at that length will sag in the middle eventually. You'll need to support it somehow. You can either put a leg in the middle, run a steel tube along the front to help support it or put a drawer bank in the middle and have 2 separate "work stations" either side. Are you planning on DIYing the job? Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Built in Desk (study nook) material 3Jan 14, 2020 2:36 pm Hey chippy, Thanks for the info - much appreciated. I was planning to DIY this - the main issue I was having was sourcing the materials (i.e finding a supplier I can provide dimensions for the surface) I really like the idea of one large "floating" desk to possible a steel tube at the front (hidden by some sort of dress panel I assume) would be the best bet. Failing that a set of drawers could do the trick. You wouldn't happen to have any suggestions on where to source such materials would you? We like the appearance of something like below - of course it would be longer longer. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Built in Desk (study nook) material 4Jan 14, 2020 3:34 pm If the width of your space was slightly smaller around 2~2.4m then you could have easily done it with IKEA products, e.g: Alex drawer unit and Linnmon table top. I built something similar myself with IKEA furniture, but width of my table was little under 2M and my nook (more like a partial room was a lot deeper. So I didn’t have worry about the depth of the table either. I think they have white workbenches spanning up to 2.4m too. But can’t see anything at 2.6m. Other option is to get a colour matched kitchen benchtop cut to size. For a cleaner look, you can choose to support the table top from below with a pice of timber running along the back wall and halfway on the side (similar to how shelves are supported in built in robes and pantries). Re: Built in Desk (study nook) material 5Jan 14, 2020 3:55 pm Thanks Opti. I have looked at the pre-cut 2.4 lengths from IKEA and would be tempted to go that direction if they came a little longer. It looks like I might need to try and find somewhere that can provide custom cut lengths (it would be easier to have it cut to the correct length already for installation) Re: Built in Desk (study nook) material 6Jan 14, 2020 3:57 pm I was going to recommend IKEA (as much as I hate their quality) but the max length of their desk tops is 2.4. The size of the opening is really unfortunate. Sheet sizes are either 2.4 or 3.6 so your going to end up paying for the extra material. For DIY you could just have a look at kitchen benchtops at Bunnings. If you bought a double sided 900 island top, you could rip a small strip off one side as the dress trim and then rip the rest of the top to suit your opening. That picture has very square edges and the Bunnings tops might be too rounded. Look for a supplier of Egger or Motivi benchtops in your area if you want something a bit more modern. They both supply pre-made benchtop blanks. The other option is to go to a local Cabinet Maker with everything you need and ask them for a cut and edge price to supply everything you need. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Built in Desk (study nook) material 9May 29, 2023 7:33 pm Hi reformatted. Found this thread and I am hoping to achieve exactly what you have mentioned. My space too is 2600 wide! Wondering if you completed this project and if so, what materials you used, from where and also a picture of the finished study nook. Thanks so much! Different to what others have said but thanks for that insight. 2 5352 Not recommended! The image presented is for a sublevel area. The footings are down deep with a load bearing wall supporting the upper floor level. If you did that drain… 8 10973 Always get multiple quotes, no matter how reasonable/cheap you think it is. I remember getting a few quotes for a pool fence, roughly around the same price, thinking the… 5 9980 |