How We Knocked Off a $699 Marble Desk for $80! (Secret Ingredient)
$80
1 Hour
Easy
Have you ever seen a beautiful piece of furniture but you absolutely did NOT have the money to pay for it? That happened to me with this gorgeous marble topped computer desk that had a whopping $699 price tag. Unfortunately, that's just slightly out of my budget. My DIY brain got to thinking - could I knock this off? I did just that, I took a cheap desk and my secret special tool and created an $80 version that looks nearly as good as the original! Check out more posts like this from Sam at www.diyjustcuz.com
The inspiration - isn't this desk / side table combo just gorgeous? I love it too, but I absolutely did not have $699 to spend. Instead - I DIY'd it.
The secret ingredient? Marble contact paper! It's easy to clean, very durable and smooth as a baby's bottom (plus it was less than $15)! Since the desk cost us $65 and the side table free, the total for this project was $80!
Step 1: Obtain a cheap, laminate desk and side table. I didn't feel like painting mine because it just wasn't worth the trouble (especially since the color already matched the look I was going for). Prepare your surface by giving it a good polishing and dusting.
Step 2: Measure and cut the contact paper. Leave a little extra on all sides to cover the corners and edges.
Step 3: Adhere the contact paper by removing the sticky backing and working from one end of the surface to the other. Remove the backing only as you apply and not all at once so you don't accidentally stick it to itself (this happened to me before, and it's a pain in the butt).
Step 4: Applying the contact paper at the corners for a crisp edge is a little tricky. Since you will have extra on all sides, cut diagonally from the corner of the contact paper to the corner of the surface (as shown in the diagram). Fold flap #2 down and flap #1 over top. Now you should have a clean edge.
Step 5: Use a straight edge or box cutter to cut off any excess contact paper from under the surface after you press it down and adhere it to all edges. You're done!
The final result, absolutely gorgeous and took less than an hour to complete the entire desk and shelf.
Cleaning it up a bit, I absolutely loved the way it turned out. The marble contact paper completely elevated the look and gave a beautiful contrast to the desk, exactly like the original inspiration.
What do you think? Does this marble contact paper desk for $80 look like a good knockoff of our $699 inspiration? I sure think so!
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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2 of 8 comments
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Love the Rich look of Marble. Awesome job! Now come over my house and do mine. LOL Going to look for some when out. Thank you for the idea.
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Wow love
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Awesome! I love it.
Our daughter just did the same thing to her dresser & chest of drawers. They look amazing! Where else can you get 2 pieces of marble furniture for under $20!?!?