My wife's one comment about my desk legs made me redo the whole thing

I built this heavy oak desk last summer and thought it looked great until my wife said the legs looked like they belonged on a picnic table. She was right, it was too blocky. I cut the legs down from 4x4s to 2x4s and added a 15 degree angle on the bottom edges. The whole thing looks way lighter now and I can actually see the floor underneath. Has anyone else had a partner point out an obvious flaw you somehow missed?

3 comments

3 Comments

henryf5310d ago

That "picnic table" comment would have stung, I bet. But honestly, the 15 degree angle trick is smart, it makes a huge difference in how heavy a piece looks. My wife pointed out my floating shelves were crooked three months after I mounted them. Had to tear down and redo the whole damn wall.

julia_burns910d ago

That "15 degree angle trick" you mentioned is something I used to totally blow off. I always figured it was just some overthinking nonsense for people with too much time on their hands. But honestly, after seeing how bad a shelf looks when it's even a couple degrees off, I get it now. My dad had this old workbench that he built dead level and it always looked clunky and heavy. Once he tilted the legs out just a little, the whole thing looked lighter and more solid. Ngl, it's one of those small things that actually makes a real difference in the final look.

paulperry10d ago

Little angle changes really do the trick. Good on you for actually listening to the advice.

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