We added trim. As I mentioned in last week’s Day In The Life post, we recently worked on adding trim to the office desk to make the cabinets look like built-ins. The cabinet bottoms looked unfinished, so our plan was to attach a simple piece of baseboard-style molding to give the whole desk a more polished, built-in appearance.
I took careful measurements and made a little cheat sheet for the cuts. When I’m making mitered cuts, I get anxious about cutting the wrong direction, so I mark the orientation and angle on each piece to avoid mistakes.
One important measurement, which isn’t shown above, was trim height. We had less than 3″ between the floor and the cabinet doors, so traditional baseboard wouldn’t fit. I bought a slimmer profile that matched the trim we’d used around our bathroom mirror. The three 8-foot pieces cost about $14 total.
I measured and labeled each piece again so the angle of the cuts was clear — little reminders help you avoid turning the blade or the wood the wrong way at the last second.
After cutting each piece, I double-checked lengths and angles to ensure everything lined up properly before nailing.
For installation I used finishing nails. I tapped them most of the way in with a hammer and finished with a nail punch so the heads sat slightly below the trim surface without damaging the surrounding wood. The edges weren’t perfectly seamless, but a bit of caulk would take care of small gaps and hide the slightly sunk nail heads. (We haven’t caulked and painted yet, but plan to do both to finish the look.)
I used two or three nails per trim piece to secure it to the cabinet — not to the floor — and the whole process went quickly. The trim’s white is already very close to the cabinet color, so we didn’t need to paint immediately. We’ll paint after caulking to ensure a finished, uniform look.
What stood out in the photos, though, was the tangle of cords under the desk. We’d been ignoring them, but once the trim was in place the messy cords ruined the polished look. So we tackled cord organization next.
Sherry’s side was simple: she only had two plugs in a small power strip (computer and lamp). The outlet is hidden behind the desk, so we’d left the strip tucked behind the cabinet during installation and could just slide it out of sight through the narrow gap beneath the countertop. Ignore the raw bottom of the countertop in these shots — it’s not noticeable from normal eye level, but we’ll probably handle it someday.
My side had more components: a larger power strip from our previous setup, multiple devices (computer, phone, external hard drive) and a big wireless router. Tucking everything behind the cabinet wasn’t possible because of the bulk, so I decided to mount the power strip to the wall under the counter to keep it out of sight.
The power strip already had mounting notches. I made a simple paper template so I could mark the exact drill locations on the wall:
- Tape a piece of paper to the back of the strip and mark the mounting notches by poking holes through the paper with a pen.
- Hold the strip where you want it and tape the paper to the wall to transfer the marks.
- Pull the strip away and drill through the paper guide so your holes line up perfectly with the strip’s notches.
- Install anchors, screw the strip into place, then plug everything back in and tuck the router behind the cabinet if it fits.
The setup still looks a little cluttered close-up, but when you step back it’s far less noticeable. The newly added trim becomes the focal point instead of the cords. We still have more finishing touches to do in the room — art, window treatments, lamps and desk organization — so the space isn’t complete yet.
Here’s a before-and-after reminder. The trim and cord organization add a surprising amount of polish for a small investment. We think the $14 for the trim was worth it for the cleaner, more built-in appearance.
The room has progressed a lot in the past month, and we spend a lot of time here, so finishing the desk felt impactful.
We discussed adding trim to the side edges where the cabinets meet the wall, but ultimately decided not to. Making that area truly flush would have required extensive cutting around the baseboard, and doing it half-heartedly would have made it look worse. Once we caulk the trim seams and fill the nail holes and then paint everything, we’ll consider the desk project finished.
Here’s a breakdown of what we spent on the 13-foot wall-to-wall double desk:
- Cabinets (from Habitat For Humanity ReStore): $6.30
- Kilz Clean Start No-VOC Primer: $0 (leftover; would be about $20 if purchased)
- Electric sander & sandpaper: $0 (already owned; would be about $25 if purchased)
- Benjamin Moore Advance paint (Decorator’s White, satin): $40
- Pre-primed & unprimed wood to build up cabinets (Home Depot): $51
- Framing lumber for counter (Home Depot): $27.30
- Stain & poly for top: $0 (already owned; would be about $8 and $20 if purchased)
- Drill bit for cord holes in counter: $4
- Trim for bottom: $14
- TOTAL: $142.60
We’ve already moved on to the next office project and can’t wait to share updates — it involves a lot of painting and some sore muscles. Have you ever added trim to make built-ins, or launched a full cord-organization effort? Tell us about your experience.
Psst — to follow the whole desk-building adventure from the start, see the original series of posts linked throughout the project timeline.