It's not exactly a secret that my study has a secret door - the shelves for science fiction open into my model workshop. For most of the time we've been in the house the first thing you saw when you opened the door was a stack of sawdust-covered wood and cardboard scraps.
But after I cleaned it up last fall I realized that this was the perfect place for a narrow wall table - a place to put a phone or iPad when I am working in there. I couldn't find a table with exactly the dimensions I wanted, so I after I got the new workbench for the wood workshop at the lake I built one from new lumber, with shelves underneath for storage.
The design was based on the shelves Daddy and I made for my paperbacks (the same ones on the shelves in the photos above). Since I didn't have the ability to rabbet the shelves into the sides, and biscuits wouldn't provide enough support for a 48" long table, I used poplar cleats to hold the shelves in place.
When I put it in I realized that it was the perfect place to store the model kits from my stash that I actually intend to built. I have many more than those shown here, but aside from the large ones that wouldn't fit here, they're older kits that I have already decided aren't going to be built because there are better kits available now.
The table also lent itself to a lamp, and although the photos don't show it, I have moved the Alexa and wireless speakers there as well. And it provides a great place to display my framed naval aviation and NASA artwork, which I expect will get moved around from time to time.
I decided the paint the shelves themselves to match the room's "Divine White" trim, but built a top from old pine boards from the Hub Shoe Store. The boards that made up the top weren't edged or planed, and were just held together with biscuits and glue. The finish was Minwax Colonial Oak with several coats of hand-rubbed satin polyurethane. It provides a rustic touch - and matches the wood-tone formica top of the model workbench.