A Shaker Style Lap Desk To Beat All!

If it had not been so wet outside today on the deck my photographs would have been better - but I couldn't wait to share my new lap desk with you! I have always thought that it would be nice to have a Shaker Style Lap Desk - maybe because I have always admired all things Shaker.  As many of you have read in older posts, my sister/friend's husband Carlo has an affinity for all things woodworking. I found some plans on the web for a Shaker style lap desk and we agreed to trade a case of my blueberry jam for a lapdesk. Thus began the journey for poor Carlo who had not really known, I think , just what I had gotten him into! My case of jam was easy compared to his making this lapdesk!.

This desk had to be light - of course it had to be - it sits on your lap for heaven's sake - and that meant working with thin cuts of wood and dovetails that were super tiny....I had no idea of what I asked Carlo to do!  It's akin to me painting or sewing in super miniature - and getting the details right too!

Of course every self respecting lap desk has to have a "hidden" draw with a fancy turned knob! This is one heck of an engineering feat!

Look at all of this wonderful storage space that all fits into these thin, lovely walls of the desk. Impressive!

I love wood.  If I did not have so many other things that I love to do I think I would have loved to have been a cabinet maker. I love the smell of wood & the grains of wood. and there is nothing better than the silky feel of a well sanded and linseed oil soaked piece of wood in your hand!!!

This last picture is of my favorite part of the desk. It's also the part that I bet Carlo liked the least. I say that because he hid it on the back of the desk. Yes, I also adore knot-holes of all kinds too! I am glad that he left this one ,special, little knot-hole for me to enjoy!  Carlo has made me an heirloom that I will treasure and use for the rest of my life. I know that, for him, this was a learning curve sort of project & I wish I had picked something more simple - ot perhaps that I had taken the time to really think about what in the heck I was asking him to do in the first place!  All I can say to you Carlo is "Thank You" and thanks for the love that went into this project too !