Home office

[FEStastic]

Just finished and wanted to say thank you to FOG for all the skills know how shared
This is my first project using all Domino constriction

Lots and lots of MDF care to Guess how many sheets ?

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it took 3 weeks on site. Did the floor, skirting, rewire, making and painting  

I would like to have some feed back
How could i have improved the design ?
What would you do differently ?

Thanks

 

[woodguy7]

Looks nice.

What would i change.  I might have kept the doors up to the top of the units or fitted a piece of trim around the top.  Just kinda looks a bit un finished there.  The base units would have been nicer if they were fitted to the wall with no gaps behind.

But hey, that's me being picky, it is really nice.  How did you do the paint, was it sprayed & if so what did you use ?

Woodguy

 

[fshanno]

The cabinets are beautiful.  I assume you were going for an extremely clean almost stark look.  Discipline, that's the ticket, no compromise.  I'm not crazy about the hardware.  I might have gone with something flush.  Also I might have gone with some drawers below for filing stuff. Or are there pullouts behind the doors?

The whole thing is painted MDF?  Cases, doors and all?  What about drawer boxes?  How did you treat the edges?  The cases are all butt joints with Dominos?  How did you handle the seams?  Lots of spackle?  How was the back lighting done?  Where are the computers going?

12 sheets?

 

[waynelang2001]

Looks nice.

What would i change.  I might have kept the doors up to the top of the units or fitted a piece of trim around the top.  Just kinda looks a bit un finished there.  The base units would have been nicer if they were fitted to the wall with no gaps behind.

But hey, that's me being picky, it is really nice.  How did you do the paint, was it sprayed & if so what did you use ?

Woodguy

I agree with woodguy but those are small things, also i might have replaced one of the the doors next to the keyboard with a full set of drawers, its always handy having lots of drawers next to your pc. And you could have made one of them just for cd's and dvd's. Other then that it looks very cool and modern. Might also have done some kind of pattern on the doors just to break up the white abit. But thats just a matter of taste.

Good job [thumbs up]

 

[Rick Christopherson]

I like the stepped design on the facing wall. This breaks up the long wall so it is less dominant. I am not sure which aspects of function may be driving some aspects of design, but barring that, there are some design concepts to consider.

• The countertop should be over the side leg so you don't see end grain on the top
• The upper door in the corner should be reversed so it is more accessible from where a person stands
• The three doors on the corner base cabinet should be two doors, and the door and drawer expanded in size (preferably equal to the back one if possible)
• The two doors between the computer keyboard trays should either open toward each other or away from each other (i.e. one of them should be reversed). Normally they would open toward the center, but if the contents would typically be accessed while sitting in the chair, then they could open away from each other.
• The undercabinet lighting should be more consistent, with more emphasis on the back corner, which doesn't get light from overhead.
• There are two computer workstations, but there is no room for computers (aside from laptops)
• The keyboard trays seem a little narrow. Is there enough room for keyboard and mouse?

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[FEStastic]

Some more pics

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[NuggyBuggy]

What are those plugs arrayed in a T-shape ? Firewire/USB ?

 

[mouppe]

What are those plugs arrayed in a T-shape ? Firewire/USB ?

UK plug sockets. 230V. I have found them to be far better than the ones here in North America as children can't easily yank them out. Yes they are bulkier but you rarely see exposed wiring and the pins do not get bent easily.

Richard.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I like the stepped design on the facing wall. This breaks up the long wall so it is less dominant. I am not sure which aspects of function may be driving some aspects of design, but barring that, there are some design concepts to consider.....

Very good feedback Rick.

.....

• There are two computer workstations, but there is no room for computers (aside from laptops)

I assume the two small cabinets on the left hand side of each workstation is for a computer tower.

FEStastic it looks good, with the feedback your getting here your next project is going to turn out great!  Oh, and we're still waiting for the count on the sheets of MDF.

 

[mat]

A Fogtainer would match nicely with that swivel chair

 

[waho6o9]

I would've used a different counter  top to match or compliment the  cabinets and silver (chrome) looking hardware and walls.
I'm guessing 10 sheets of mdf.  You did a great job, thanks for posting.  [big grin]

 

[kfitzsimons]

I really like the counter tops.  Much more comfortable to work on than steel or other hard surface and it's a nice "natural" element in a very modern design. Nicely done.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

What are those plugs arrayed in a T-shape ? Firewire/USB ?

UK plug sockets. 230V. I have found them to be far better than the ones here in North America as children can't easily yank them out. Yes they are bulkier but you rarely see exposed wiring and the pins do not get bent easily.

Richard.

Ah, thanks.  When I saw that I thought it was a wonderful idea to run the I/O cables in the wall and just present neat and tidy face plates  [embarassed]

 

[FEStastic]

Thank you all very much for the feedback.

wow I have so much to learn, the suggestions were very useful and thought provoking.

-16 sheets @18mm (casing and doors)
-2 sheets @ 12mm (drawers)

Lots of glue and domino's !

The setup was for the client and his three kids to use as an office, a guest bedroom, Kids homework area and band practice.

- All these affected the overall design and as the build progressed the layout was refined.
- I agree with having lots of draws which i built but was vetoed and were removed.
- The balance of doors and how they would open, was something that was an issue. In the end i gave them functionality in some areas and asthetics in others. Also at times i did what was better for the build in terms of time and ease of execution. The door on the wall unit in the corner is the way it is because its easier to hang on the left of the unit without building a small support section which would have restricted access to the very back.

- The end grain showing on the worktop was done as they liked it that way but again the option was given to them. They were really nice folk and so i gave them lots of options which i would normally decide myself.

- To the left of each seating position is a computer unit . The bottom shelf is on full extension runners so gaining access to the cables is easy. None of the bottom units touch the wall so the cables can run behind. The space is extra generous this time as the client ice climbs and has forearms like PopEye !

- The use of Oak was due to the cottage having an oak framed entrance and an oak theme overall.

- The doors were rollered with two coats of 'Dulux MDF primer', then 'Dulux trade Diamond Eggshell' with as many coats as needed.

- The MDf factory edges need to be managed, as painting them makes you go nuts as they feather and dimple endlessly. I try to keep them facing the back or just  cut them off. Changing blades regularly keeps the feathering down. I learnt the hard way, going cheap on primer. Some primers are as viscous as milk, which is good for a tosh coat but to get a good opaque coat, i prefer thick high pigment count primers. Usual routine of sanding in between coats.

- At the moment I'm using a Matabo SXE450 which i am waiting to die to justify getting a rotex,  [smile] same with my Fein vacume !

- The lighting track above is 9x 650mm T8 triphosphor lamps connected in series to the main room light. I used 9 to achieve an even light source. Under the counter are three individual lights for each station on a separate ring.

- The handles were  the clients choice and at the end of the day as long as it does not compromise my reputation or work ethic i'll build what people pay me to. People pay good money for things i would refuse to have in my own house.

Once again thank you all for your comments and encouragement.

 

[fshanno]

I checked on that Dulux.  Very interesting product.  I was told not to use water based primers on mdf because it would "raise the grain" in a manner of speaking.  Obviously this is not true.  Unless it's not on the internet there don't appear to be any MDF specific primers available in the US. 

I'm very intrigued about using MDF for everything.  So everything inside and out is painted MDF and with a roller.  If left to my own devices I would have used particle board melamine for the cases.  I would have used color core laminate over particle board for the doors and drawer fronts.  I would have gone with prefinished ply for the drawer boxes and drawer bottoms.  But I like the idea of painted MDF very much, infinite color choices, flat stable structure, stronger than particle board.  With dominoes for the joinery it makes the whole thing a lot more attractive.  My knee jerk inclination is to go for plywood or melamine.  This is a real eye opener.

I have a few more questions if you don't mind.

You rolled the top coats?  Did you thin it at all?  I don't think I could get a water based top coat to lay down smooth enough for that kind of work with a roller.  Did you sand between every coat?  Did you do anything like buffing after the last coat? 

What size dominoes did you use for the cases?

Did you use Dominoes on the drawer boxes like those Domi drawers that I've seen here on the FOG.