As many of you know, I recently closed off a loft space to give my oldest daughter’s their own room.  I have finished lots in Hayden’s room, and now have turned my attention to Avery’s room.  She is my oldest… She’s 12 going on 18… Any of you feel me? 😉  She’s ready for an older girl room!

Several years ago I built them a desk from some old barstools I was planning to get rid of.   They have used it ever since and it really fits the space so well, so I decided it was time for a little revamp!  Here is how it turned out!

DIY Desk from Barstools

Teen Girl's Room

This is such a simple desk to build, and you can find the barstools super cheap HERE on Amazon!

Let me show you how easy this is!

I started by spray painting both of my barstools using one of my favorite Rust-Oleum products… Painter’s Touch in Heirloom White!  This can be found at the Home Depot.

Rustoleum_Heirloom_White_edited-1

While those were drying I stained trimmed the wood for the top of the desk.  On my original desk, I used a 20″ x 48″ project panel for the top.  This time I decided to use some Purebond Plywood I had left over from another project.  I just love the look of it stained so much!  I cut it the same dimensions and set it on top of the stools to trim it out.

Barstool Desk Tutorial

I used 1×3 pine to trim the desk top.  I love how this beefs it up a bit!  I did my sides first, so I had two 1 x 3 cut at 20″ long each.  I attached them using Gorilla wood glue and 1.25″ brad nails using my Ryobi Airstrike brad nailer.

After attaching the side pieces I did the front and back pieces.  I had two 1×3 cut at 49.5″ and I attached them the same way.  This is what the finished corners looked like…

Trim out barstool desk

My next step was staining the desk top.   I used a new color for this part.  It’s a Rust-Oleum stain called Summer Oak.

Rustoleum Wood Stain Summer Oak

I also added two other boards to the bottom bars.  These serve as a shelf.  I would suggest you guys measure this part yourself to get the best fit.  I stained these boards before attaching them to the barstool with wood glue and brad nails.

barstool for desk

My final step was adding a small piece of 1×3 to the front of each of my shelves to cover the rough edge of the plywood.  I also like that the thickness matched the thickness of my desk top.  I carried each stool and the desk top upstairs and then attached the top.  I decided to use wood screws through the bottom of the stool and into the desktop to attach mine.  Look how pretty the top looks stained!

desk top

I still have a ton of work to do in her room, but I’m happy to have this little part updated!  And for me, this was a free project!  I will say that if you choose to purchase the stools and wood for the top and shelves, you can easily build this for under $100, maybe cheaper!  That’s still a great price for a solid wood desk!

Here are a few more pics!

DIY Desk from Barstools

Teen Girl's Room

DIY Barstool Desk

Turn barstools into a desk

Barstool Desk DIY

What do you think??  I have one happy girl!  And I love that I didn’t spend a dime… Makes it so much cuter right?? 😉

Let me know if you have any questions at all!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Whitney

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10 Comments

  1. Great idea for a space needing a desk that has a narrow depth. Making the rungs a shelf was a great idea. I just noticed that you have 77,000 Google followers. Maybe sometime you’ll write about how a feat like that is accomplished! That is incredible!

  2. Nice job. I love the two tone look and it’s even a bit industrial looking! I do love a good upcycle – more people should get creative and do the same. Besides, it gives you a one of a kind look, which just adds to it’s charm.