Industrial Apartment Upgrade - Pipe Desk, Coffee Table and Bed

Industrial pipe furniture is a quick way to bring a modern feel to any environment. Building your own furniture is a way to cut down the cost, while achieving a distinctive look. Some people are opting to build pipe furniture with threaded fittings. While the threaded connections are cheap, they are hard to adjust, are not always "square" and are generally just difficult to work with. An alternative to plumbing fixtures are Kee Klamp pipe fittings. Kee Klamp fittings use a set screw locking mechanism which allows you to create pipe structures with relatively little effort. The fittings allow you to quickly assemble your project and are easy to adjust once installed.

One of our customers, Gabe Diaz, decided to take the plunge and upgrade his apartment with pipe furniture. He opted to use our galvanized Kee Klamp fittings. Below are the items he built to outfit his apartment.

Gabe got started in this project by building a standing desk. He liked building with Kee Klamp so much, that he expanded his project to include a coffee table and a bed frame. Gabe was able to build everything to his exact specification with very little effort.

The Standing Desk

Gabe had something pretty specific in mind when he contacted our projects team about his desk. We were able to help him work through the design process and even created a SketchUp diagram to help him visualize the desk.

Gabe's standing desk has three different levels. The middle level on the right is the working surface. The tall surface boosts the height of an additional monitor. The lowest shelf can serve as storage for printers, routers and various other office items. The usage of pipe and fittings in this design are fairly economic. Here's a list of the parts that he used:

• 10 x 61-6 Flanges - These are used to connect the upright pipes to the top desktops.
• 8 x 10-6 Tees - These are used to connect the legs together to the cross supports.
• 2 x 29-6 - 30° to 60° Single Socket Tee - Attach the cross supports to the middle support pipe at an angle.
• 6 x 133-6 Plastic Plugs - These are inserted into the legs of the pipes to protect the floor.

One of the more interesting parts about this desk is the way that it joins the cross members with angled fittings. The two 10-6s attach to the legs and then the 29-6s allow the cross members to come together.

The bottom shelf sets on top of all the fittings and has six points of contact. It is held in place by gravity.

See more pipe desks.

The Coffee Table

Gabe extended the industrial pipe theme into his apartment by building this pipe coffee table. He built the table top from rustic boards and attached them so that they appear to float. The second level of the coffee table is used to support the top and could be turned into a secondary shelf of it's own.

As an alternative, Gabe could have used M50s to connect the table top to the frame.

Parts for the coffee table:

• 4 x 61-6 Flanges - Used as base flanges for the legs.
• 2 x 10-6 Tees - Connects the middle of the table.
• 4 x 20-6 Side Outlet Elbow - Used on the top edges of the table.
• 4 x 21-6 Side Outlet Tee - Used on the middle edges of the table.

See more pipe tables.

The Bed

We were so excited that Gabe was building this furniture that we actually sent him a bed skirt for his new bed. This third piece pulled the pipe theme into the bed room. Pipe is great for building bed frames for a couple of reasons:

• They're very easy to assemble and you can customize it to your liking.
• They are easy to break down and transport.
• They are durable so they won't get busted up in a move.
• Best of all....they look awesome!

Parts for the bed:

• 4 x 61-6 Flanges - Used as base flanges for the legs.
• 2 x 10-6 Tees - Connects the headboard.
• 4 x 15-6 Elbows - Used on the top of the headboard and footboard.
• 4 x 21-6 Side Outlet Tee - Used on the corners of the mattress frame.

See more pipe beds.

If you've been inspired by Gabe's furniture check out the additional pipe furniture below.