DIY Fold-out Computer Desk

Ed Gruberman

I want to put a computer desk in our guest bedroom. The problem is that the room is not big enough to be both an "office" and a bedroom at the same time. I generally don't work from home nor do we have guests all that often but it would be nice to actually have a desk where a computer is setup and still have room for guests when they visit. So I was thinking, what if it could be both - just not at the same time.

As a result, I was thinking of building something like this fold-out desk: https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/build-a-foldout-desk-and-craft-table

The way that desk is designed, it has a cleat that is attached directly to that wall. My thinking is that if that cleat was deep enough and had a bit of a cutaway in the middle, I could mount a couple of monitors on a dual monitor mount like this so that when guests came to visit, I could just push back the monitors and fold the desk up.

Are there any problems I'm not seeing that I should be considering? The biggest concern I have at this point is what kind of finish to apply to a computer desk. I'm assuming some kind of polyurethane varnish but really I have no experience in this area.

bowen

Might be easier to deal with a murphy or couch bed instead.

I can't see a fold out desk working very well with computers and monitors and not have an unreasonably large profile still, even when folded up.

Ed Gruberman

the dream would be a murphy bed on one wall and a fold out desk on the other but right now, the bed is just a fancy inflatable queen mattress and when the mattress is there, there is no room for a desk of any kind.

dispatch.o

I actually use a 6' collapsible table as a computer desk. It works for me because I happen to be the right height. Some even have adjustable height.
Example from Amazon.

I don't know if you could DIY a desk like that, but it's an option if you plan on only taking the desk out for company. That and a futon couch combined would give decent versatility to the room.

Enc

I own a Murphy bed in a similar setup. Way easier and more worth the cost than the opposite.

The bed takes up way more essential real estate than the desk, save up and go that route.

Pixie

What about maybe a foldable computer desk instead? Something like this? Relatively quick to set up and take down (and store flat) and probably more functionally "desk-like" than a built-in fold-out one.

Ed Gruberman

dispatch.o wrote: »

I actually use a 6' collapsible table as a computer desk. It works for me because I happen to be the right height. Some even have adjustable height.
Example from Amazon.

I don't know if you could DIY a desk like that, but it's an option if you plan on only taking the desk out for company. That and a futon couch combined would give decent versatility to the room.

The dream is the murphy bed but it's only going to need to be used a few days a year. And since we already have a temporary bed that can be setup and taken down easily but have no desk in the house, I'm prioritizing the desk solution.

I had initally dismissed the folding table option just for aesthetics, @dispatch.o but I do like the size. I really like the one you have proposed, @Pixelated Pixie. I just wish it was bigger since I'm expecting the room to be in desk arrangement 99% of the time. Still... 40" might be big enough.

Thanks guys. Those are good ideas.

Siska

There's simple wooden folding tables of various shapes and sizes if you don't like the more common plastic ones. https://www.bizchair.com/wood-folding-tables/
Just check the weight limit. And preferably you want one with support underneath so it doesn't warp and sag over time. Like this one. https://www.bizchair.com/YT-1860-MEL-WAL-GG.html?cgid=wood-training-folding-tables#start=1 and this one https://www.bizchair.com/YT-2448-HIGH-WAL-GG.html?cgid=wood-high-pressure-laminate-folding-tables#start=4

dispatch.o

Another option would be to get a desk with casters on it that fits through the door. Unplug the computer, wheel the whole thing somewhere else. Though if you wall mount the monitor and get a thin desk for the keyboard/mouse you could get a Chromecast and your guests may appreciate a small table and Netflix.