I'm in a new rental, a small 1940's cape that hasn't been updated since the 70's.  Besides the renovations, I realized that I needed a new desk!  Because I'm a fan of mid-century modern furniture, I decided to design a desk based on that style.  The key in this project is the use of wood veneer, and of course I turned straight to Rockler for supplies.  I've been using them for years, and I used a peel and stick walnut veneer that is a breeze to use.  More on that later, the first step however, was to cut my pieces from 3/4" birch plywood: