DIY Stained Wood Desk Tutorial

*This post is sponsored by Rust-Oleum.

Working with wood nearly every day you develop a fondness and appreciation for the beauty that was grown straight out of the earth. Building furniture and creating other projects out of wood has me wanting to relish in the simplicity of its grain and organic nature. I’ve teamed up with Rust-Oleum, who makes the lovely Varathane Fast Dry wood stain, to use their products in a few wood projects for my son’s bedroom. Starting off with this stained wood desk I built and paired with a painted pipe base to create a basic work and play space in his bedroom.

The Varathane stain does a wonderful job of bringing out the natural beauty of the wood. And I actually love the juxtaposition of the new wood desk top against the old wood floors in our 1740 farmhouse.

Select your color and get right to staining, no wood conditioner required and that makes me very happy! This high-performance stain features nano pigments, which intensify color clarity and highlight wood grain, delivering the perfect shade in just one coat. Varathane wood stain is great for furniture, trim, floors and more.

See how I stained this wood desk top in a quick video here:

I used basic off the shelf framing lumber from the big box store to build the desk top, nothing fancy here. Trim off those bull nose edges for a more flush and modern look. More details on how to build the desk top and assemble the pipe base can be found here.

Today we are admiring the scrumptious stained wood in all its glory.

To make this desk I built the wood top using 2×6 framing lumber, biscuit joinery and stretchers underneath for added support:

I made up a few samples using some wood off cuts to get a better idea of the stain colors against the green base. Ultimately I ended up using Varathane wood stain in Dark Walnut and I think it was a good choice especially once everything was put together in the room.

It goes on super smooth but not watery and it definitely has thicker coverage than other stains. I would equate it to a thin paint but it’s not opaque like paint. This Varathane wood stain dries in one hour which is a huge time saver, no more waiting forever for stain to dry!

To seal the wood I used Varathane polyurethane in satin finish. You definitely want to seal any table top surface that will be getting heavy use. After all that hard work building your project you want to protect the finish for a long time to come.

The polyurethane goes on cloudy but dries clear. I used two coats for this desk top only because I know kids can be rough with furniture and I wanted that extra layer of protection.

Assemble the pipe base and spray paint Rust-Oleum 2x Ultra Cover spray paint in Gloss Meadow Green. Then place the desk top on top, center and attach with screws from the underside.

My son is loving his new desk space and I am secretly very jealous this desk isn’t for me! Do you have a wood furniture or flooring project that would be perfect for Varathane stain? I encourage you to try it, you won’t be disappointed. Be sure to post and tag your projects using #varathaneit on social media, we will be on the lookout for all the beautiful stained wood pieces!