Repurposed Shutter Desk

How to build a Repurposed Shutter Desk:

*Sizes and dimensions will be omitted owning to the fact that not all shutters will be the same size, this is a basic tutorial on how to build a repurposed shutter desk, not full building plans. 🙂

Step 1: Trim shutters to Size

The shutters I picked up had already been cut down and they were not straight edges.  I used my Combination Square to mark a straight line on the crooked edges.  Then I cut it on my miter saw.  I ended up cutting my shutters to 27”, but you can adjust this to how tall you want your desk, remember you will have to add the top.

I used my first cut shutter as a guide to mark my second shutter (bottom left photo above) then cut it as well.

I actually started this project a few weeks back and at the time I only planned to use 2 shutters, in the top photo I was dry fitting some floor boards on top of the shutters to see how it would look.

It wasn’t until I started working on this project again this week, that I decided to use a third shutter to make shelves.  Here is my third shutter before it was trimmed down…so crooked!  The bottom rail of the shutter was much thicker.  Sorry it is cut off in the photo, so I ended up only trimming a little off the top, which you can see and a few inches off the bottom.

Step 2: Build your top

I determined how long I wanted my desk to be and then cut my floor boards accordingly.  Since I used some free floor boards I had gotten off of the craig’s list free section they were already cut to a shorter size.

I did mine according to my longest floor boards which was 35 1/2”.  Using wood glue and some scrap 1/4” strips and a 5 gallon paint stick I secured my planked boards on the back, you can also add nails to secure them to the planks before the wood glue dries.

Since I used floor boards they had tongue and groove edges on two sides that needed trimming.  Once my desk top was built, I used my miter saw to trim the short edge, which was 17 1/2” deep, I did have to flip it over, because my miter saw doesn’t cut that long.

For the longer side I used my Kreg Rip-Cut and Ryobi Circular Saw to get rid of the extra tongue and groove edges.

An important thing to consider…

When I built the top I didn’t think about the top aprons (1×2’s) that would attach to the bottom side of the desk top.  I also didn’t realize I would be adding a third shutter…so I ended up having to cut down my scrap pieces on the edges and in the middle to make room for my apron pieces and my third shutter.  Oops!

I used my Ryobi Multi-Tool to cut down into the 1/4” pieces then a crow bar to pry them off.  If you do it right you can omit this step. 😉

Step 3:  Cut top apron pieces and support pieces

Using my desk top (upside down) as a guide I placed my end shutters on the edges of my top.  Then I used my scrap plywood which I will use as my shelves as my spacer for where my third middle shutter needed to be placed.

With the shutters in the proper place I then used my scrap 1×2’s and measured, marked and cut, my aprons and support pieces.  I cut 6 of the shorter 1×2’s two will be for the top aprons and the other four will be shelf supports.

I cut two longer 1×2 apron pieces, and then a 1×3 for a bottom support piece.

Step 4: Drill Pocket holes

Once I had all my pieces cut I drilled my pocket holes.  Each apron and support piece got 2 3/4” pocket holes in each end.  I also drilled 4 3/4” pocket holes into the top of the shutters.  These will be used to attach the desk top later on.

In the top right photo above you can see I am using a 1×2 as a spacer to mark where my aprons will be on each side of the shutter, this way I can drill my pocket holes 1 1/2” over from the edge so the aprons don’t cover them up.

After the pocket holes were drilled then I sanded all my aprons and support pieces.

Step 5: Attach top aprons to shutters