Hi all :)

Apologies, I know this isn’t a woodworking question, but I don’t know of a better place to ask about restoring a desk like this.

It’s an oak desk, but it looks like there used to be a felt inlay, or maybe vinyl. The top of the desk has an inlay of plywood, with a small raised edge to the oak, of maybe 2 - 3mm. Staining or varnishing doesn’t seem to be an option, as the style of the plywood doesn’t match the rest of the desk, so I’m looking for ideas for the top.

Felt or vinyl would be the obvious options, but I’m hoping to hear some other ideas. It’s going to be used as an office desk, with two computer monitors and a keyboard and mouse, but also for writing, mostly notes rather than anything serious.

The underside of the plywood has oak planks running from front to back, so there’s the option of removing the plywood and putting in another piece of wood, but I don’t want to spend too much if I can help it.

Does anyone have any suggestions or feedback please?

Thanks in advance :)

EDIT: Sorry if I’m a bit slow to reply tonight, I’m having a mad dash to tidy up and make room for the new desk. I’ve managed to plan everything backwards (again…)

Note for myself - the lip is 1mm and the plywood is 3mm, as best as I can tell without dismantling anything

  • @RvTV95XBeo
    10•9 months ago

    The cheaper option that would still look great would probably be to find a big sheet of oak veneer for the desk top. If it were me though, I’d probably try and remove the plywood and install some oak if you want it to match, or maybe a darker wood like walnut if you want a little contrast

    • TipponOP
      5•9 months ago

      I didn’t think of veneer, that’s a good idea, thanks :)

      I’ve just been looking at vinyl, but the shops here only seem to have the flooring patterns, so they’re not doing it for me. I love the idea of replacing the plywood, but I’m trying to talk myself out of it before I get it wrong :D

        • TipponOP
          4•9 months ago

          Oh, wow, that’s really helpful, thanks :)

          I’m in South Wales, so they deliver here, and the prices are much better than I was expecting. They can do next working day delivery too, which is fantastic.

          I’m having a tidying up session tonight to make room for the desk, but I’ll check the depth under the plywood tomorrow and see where to go.

          Thanks again :)

          • @[email protected]
            2•9 months ago

            If the recess isn’t exactly the depth of available plywood, unless you have a plunge router and are comfortable making a sled to route the recess slightly deeper, this might be a more difficult job than anticipated. Veneer would be more doable because they’re super thin

      • @[email protected]
        2•9 months ago

        So, not much of a woodworker myself but it looks like the top is in three panels? You could use that as an opportunity for contrast as mentioned above and make the whole project look like it has some design intentionality.

        Maybe a darker maple walnut veneer for that center panel as mentioned above and leather for the two smaller outer panels as mentioned elsewhere?

        • TipponOP
          2•9 months ago

          That’s a good idea, I’ll have a look at some different materials and colours, thanks :)