The plywood panels for the desk arrived about a week later in the mail. I didn't have to go buy the plywood, haul it, cut it, and then deal with (and pay for) scraps I didn't need.
The front edges of the plywood panels are also edge banded, so no need to finish them!
3. Assemble
Assembling the plywood pieces is pretty straight forward - just drill 3/4" pocket holes on the horizontal pieces and attach to the vertical pieces with 1-1/4" pocket hole screws.
Instead of a full plywood top or back, I used 1x3 furring strips to tie the sides in. This saves weight, cost, and bulk in the project.
4. Customize
Once the carcass is done, it's easy to customize to suit your needs. Since you are working with a square project, you can just measure as you go - no need for a detailed plan.For the desk base on the right, I added three drawers and a cabinet door.
For the base on the left, I added a roll out printer shelf. All the bases have 5" baseboard.
5. Finish and Top
The finish on the desk is primer and white semi-gloss paint from Sherwin Williams (color is Extra White). The countertop is quartz, the color is Rococo. The quartz countertop is just sitting on the desk bases. It is very heavy, so glad the desk bases are well made with 3/4" thick plywood!