Farmhouse Desk with X-Brace Legs

This desk's legs are built in two layers, like several other pieces in this catalog's farmhouse family: 2x4s for the main leg posts and bottom support, 2x2s for the top support and aprons, with the signature X detail scribed directly onto each leg assembly rather than cut from a fixed angle. The plan's own angles (36° and 16°) are given as a REFERENCE, not a guarantee — actual angles shift with wood thickness and build accuracy, so scribe against your own assembled legs rather than trusting a fixed number.

Build both leg sets complete with their X bracing before joining them with the 2x2 aprons — getting each leg set right in isolation is easier than trying to true up bracing on a desk that's already joined into one long structure. The bottom shelf is 1x8, backed by its own back board nailed to the rear legs first, which gives the shelf boards something to land against before they're screwed to the leg bases.

The top is two 1x12 boards laid with even overhangs on the ends and flush to the back — construction lumber ('whitewood') throughout, which the source notes stains up fine despite the species differences between the dimensional lumber and the furring-strip 2x2s, as long as you're using a stain or paint that isn't relying on matched grain to look right.