Custom home office using Flexi Storage

[HousevsSarah]

We built a very custom looking home office out of Flatpack Flexi Storage Built in Wardrobe Units. The entire project took two weekends. 

Materials

• 3x Flexi Storage 6 Shelf Built in wardrobe Units
• 2x Flexi Storage 4 Drawer 3 Shelf Built in Wardrobe Units
• Yellow Tongue ( left over from another project) or ply would work too.
• Structural Pine for plinth legs
• Easycraft VJ panelling
• 42mm x 18mm primed DAR Moulding
• 31x 11mm Primed DAR Moulding
• Porta 138mm Primed Colonial moulding
• 42mm x11mm Primed Colonial Moulding
• Porta 18mm square primed moulding
• 18mm x 11mm cornice white pine primed
• 2200 x 600 Beech Laminated Panel
• Primer - Zinsser BIN Shellac
• Paint - Dulux Aquanamel
• Paint Rollers
• Fine Grit Sanding blocks

Tools

• Brad nailer and 18mm and 40mm nails
• Drill
• Mitre saw
• Table saw
• Circular saw
• Jigsaw
• Level

Steps

Step 1

We started by building the two side 6 shelf units.

Step 2

We created a plinth by cutting the yellow tongue to size and making some legs from the structural pine. These were attached by nailing and screwing down through the yellow tongue. 

Step 3

We then cut the sides of the two 4 drawer units in half and assembled them into four units: 2 sets of drawers and 2 shelf units which we screwed onto the top of the 6 shelf units.

After this we screwed everything into wall studs to secure. We then cut down the Beech Panel for the desktop and attached it to the structure. 

Step 4

Next we took the last 6 shelf unit and cut it vertically on the table saw to create two slimmer units. We used some melamine to create the missing side on each and nailed and glued together. 

 

Step 5

We then added Easy Craft VJ panelling to the wall, screwing and nailing into studs.  

Step 6

Next we added trim around the base, base of the slim units and fronts of all the shelves and verticals. We also added cornice to the top and a shaker style profile to the drawer.

 

Step 7

We filled with wood filler and allowed to dry for 24 hours before sanding with a foam sanding block

Step 8

Next we taped and sheeted off the room so we could spray the unit with BIN Zinsser Shellac Primer. We used two coats, sanding lightly between. 

Step 9

Then we sprayed Dulux Aquanamel in White Beach Half. It took two coats, plus a few touch ups, sanding between each. 

Step 10

Here's the final result!

 

 

  

[Akanksha]

Hello @HousevsSarah, 

Another terrific project under your belt. Using the Flexi Storage Built In Wardrobe units to build a custom office is a great idea. You've created such a functional and stylish space that I'm sure you'll enjoy working in. 

Did you encounter any unexpected challenges during this project? How did you overcome them?

Congratulations once again on this project and I can't wait to see more of your work.

Akanksha 

[Dave-1]

Good Afternoon @HousevsSarah 

What a difference! Love how you have put together modules and ended up with something a professional builder would be proud of! 

What gave you the idea to do it this way? Love how stylish you have made it look with the cornice and trim. Just re-read it and saw "two weekends" hahahah Id be hard pressed to do it in a month! You guys have done well!

Dave

[EricL]

Hello @HousevsSarah 

What a clever combination of cabinetry, I love the slim units you've created that go on the side of the larger cabinetry. The entire set up reminds me of a classic English working desk. A time when manually writing correspondence was a regular thing. It gives the room such a classy look and the coloured carpet adds a nice touch of subtle colour.

Thank you for sharing such a fantastic project.

Eric

[anna92]

This is stunning @HousevsSarah!!!! Thanks for sharing. Has helped me zone in a bit more myself on the design I was thinking for our study room. Love it!

[HousevsSarah]

Thanks Akanksha! We had a great time building this, with not too many unexpected surprises as it was a similar process to the mudroom we built last year. The hardest part was probably painting, getting the right primer for laminate and getting the coverage we wanted. But lots of research and sanding with fine grit sanding blocks gave us a great result.

[HousevsSarah]

Thanks Dave! I'd seen people repurpose flatpack bookshelves into office storage so I thought it would be a pretty easy way and cheap way to make a home office that we could customise to our space. I also loved the depth of the shelves of using wardrobe units. Two weekends was a big effort but we had fun.

[HousevsSarah]

Thanks so much Eric, that's exactly what I was going for, I appreciate it!

[HousevsSarah]

Thanks Anna, have fun designing your study!