The Wine Case Desk

Bonus points if there is still space in it to store wine.

@Like so.

Nice. And how do u sit ???

Very creative I must say.

Firasco

Cool. Sort of a college-ey look and kinda reminds me of some bookshelves I made from asparagus crates, years ago. I saw some asparagus crates the other day, but they're beginning to make the ends from ugly chipboard. Waaaaah.

5 stars for ingenuity! You'll grow out of this sort of idea soon enough, for sleek looking steel and glass, but enjoy this sort of furniture while you can. The expectations of other "grown-ups" (wife, boss, friends) will intrude soon enough. I love the idea of having bookshelves at your desk - so few offices (or homes) are equipped with them, but (to me, at least), they are essential.

renewbee

@penguiniator: Wonderful winos ;)

But I agree. Where's the spool? I like the recycled idea but it just looks cheesy.

Another great example of re-purposing some items that might ordinarily end up collecting dust, adding to a landfill, etc. Love it. Most important things are 1) Does it work for you (is it functional) and 2) Can you shave some costs by using a little ingenuity. Filling all the shelves, nooks and crannies with classical art and things you'll need for your domestic cyber-hub, just makes it sweeter! **Great job**

Bennie B

A painting could make this so much better though, when recycling materials it's sometimes good to try to make them look good.

@Kamigoroshi: A bolt and wingnut could do the job quit effectively, that or drill holes and use dowels.

This desk is giving off good vibes

idogis1

*Push*

Ipwnnubletz

I like the overall idea but wouldn't it be easier to just use some screws from under each case into the case above?

Xander

I can be a fan of function over beauty, as is the case here. A simple and cheap - yet portable - setup! I assumed the table top would be plain old clear glass but the pictures reveal a nice pattern throughout it. Something similar could be constructed, using an old door for the flat surface. That's what I've done for a craft/work table (laid upon two filing cabinets).

@Nabeel:

I stand corrected :)

gravitus

Genius, but ugly as sin (or at least the way he arranged this bit) and you waste some space having the C-clamps block up prime shelf area. There has got to be a better way to secure them.

Perhaps, aluminum bars and screws and bolts will do the trick better. Put aluminum bars on both inside and outside of the crate and screw both inside ends in. The outside is long enough extend to the next crate where the process is repeated.

The catch is, it's not as quickly disassembled as the c-clamp design, but at least it would look better, is sturdier and would save shelving space that the c-clamps take up.

Great idea.. But could use some finishing..

Anonymous816435

@gravitus:
Hey, don't bash the 'driving with the feet' idea! The Flintstones do it...and...oh forget it.

It would be better if it were held together with binder clips -- great, big binder clips!

Good idea, though!

It's the 70's all over again... and who drinks that much wine?

penguiniator

I give him a thumbs up for ingenuity and a thumbs down for overall appeal.

I could make a desk out of milk crates if I wanted too. I could also drive with my feet, but that doesn't make it a good idea.

gravitus

@Steve: Like the employees at Canon of course. You don't!

    That's a sweet set-up, I must say! I'd figure you'd put one of those plastic office floor thingies down, along with the perfect office/relaxing chair, which I haven't found, yet...

    Said chair would be adjustable, comfortable, and recline-able, with no rattle-ey plastic parts, and the arms would be retractable (able to be folded away, or at worst, retracted!), in case you wanted to noodle on your guitar while you were surfing. Casters on the bottom, and able to swivel, too. Bonus for a good cupholder on one side, and maybe a compartment for remotes on the other side...

    If someone makes this sort of thing for under $2000, I'm all over it! Haven't seen it in stores, though.

I'd like to see pics of the rest of the house to get an idea of how well the desk ties in to the decor. To me, it looks messy. I could never get anything done with everything looking so cluttered.

thunder01

@friendslikeJimRome: But could you find that wood out back in a dumpster for free? The article says that the guy found the wine crates for free, heading towards the trash. So therefore this desk is super cheap, not super expensive.

@Khayman: Where I buy wine, they sell those wooden crates for $60 a piece, so you're looking at $480 + some amount of money for the top of the desk. I haven't bought any wood lately but I'm guessing you could do a lot better even if you bought the wood from a hardware store.

Wow, how unimpressive...and hideous to boot.

@Steve: based on the height, it was probably made to stand in front of and work, which is only good for short periods of work, or like Hands said above, sitting at a bar stool or a drafting chair of some sorts. Although since their no chair in the picture, I would say it's a standing table.

atomicrabbit

@gravitus: totally agree with you! I couldn't have said it better myself!

atomicrabbit

Just down kick back and rest your feet on any part of that thing. You'll jenga the life out of it.

Erika Price

Who would be able to work drinking that much wine?

@Steve: If you're using wine crates it seems appropriate to sit on a barstool.

I eagerly await the next installment of this once-proud series where the desk is made entirely out of organic waste.

It's an awesome concept and I like the way that the simple idea was realized. The only thing I'd have to do differently would be to make the construction a bit more permanent with some nails and good wood glue. Granted it'd make it less portable depending on how much permanent attachment was done, but I'd be more comfortable loading a lot of heavy, pricey gear onto it than on a desk built out of C-Clamps.

Aquaricat

@Khayman: I wish. Those boxes are perfect for about a million uses. I live in a Boston burb and the liquor stores charge for those boxes. The big place to pick up building supplies around here is the town dump. It's a big social scene on Saturday morning. There's a real nice book exchange there.

Could I recommend treating the wood with something like varnish or a nice colour? I forgot to mention that in my previous post; go to Home Depot, buy some cheap wood finish (maybe something that will seriously darken the wood; dark wood always looks expensive). It might take an afternoon or so to get all the relevant sides all shined up, but it will really put the cherry on top of an already sweet desk.

Although on second thought, maybe check if it looks as nice with those floors. I do like how the crates and the floor match.

Alfonzo

I love wine cases; I repurposed 6 of them into bedside tables that can hold books etc for our vacation house, and I use the smaller one-bottle ones here at uni as medicine cabinets (the ones that come with the nicer port bottles have a plastic covering) and stationery cabinets. It looks awesome, gave me some much-needed shelf space, was free, and pre-assembled. couldn't be better.

This is an awesome use of wine cases; one of my favorite workspaces. Nice job Brendon!

Alfonzo

@korybing: Exactly. I'm not sure where friendslikeJimRome lives, but where I live, those crates can easily be found free of charge, whether in someone's trash, or at a winery or alcohol store.

@Toastie: i like the rough look of the wine cases. sometimes painting of recycled goods can also make them look like crap. maybe a stain of some sort, but i think covering the natural beauty of the wood with paint would ruin it.

sextonrules311

@friendslikeJimRome: I have to admit though, I like how the crates match the wood floor.

@gravitus: I dunno, I like it. It's like the classier version of the milk crate desk to me.

@sextonrules311: Depends on the wood used to make the wine crates, if it doesn't have nice grain a stain would be a waste.