Friday, June 27, 2014

Girl's Desk - From A Table

The Headlines:


Pottery barn Furniture is expensive.  And meaningless!

I love furniture with meaning.

This table means a perfect desk for my daughter.  

And it means even more to me.





When I was a kid, we didn't have a play room table with crayons and paper.  We didn't have a large office with a desk in it, nor a kitchen desk like many of us have built into our houses today.  We didn't have a formal dining room.  Heck, we didn't even have a kitchen island.  Nope, there was just one place where we pretty much did everything.  Our "dining" table.

Before Table
When my Mom wanted to give it to me, I accepted.  I loved that table.  So many memories.  Dinner every night.  Drawing as a kid.  Homework as a teen.  Snacks after school.  At first it went in the play room.  It was perfect there.  But it's a small play room so when I re-worked the space, I really had no place for it.  I was close to letting it go until I came up with a new plan for this area.

Before Space
This is the one wall in my daughter's room that could handle a desk.  Plus, she needed one.  She was going into the 3rd grade and it was time she has a good spot to do homework.  Which meant it was time for me to get to work!


We took the above table,  Bp (the husband) did most of the work… and we used one of these guys (above) to sand it down.  Then, he primed and (spray) painted it.  Side note, that's become our favorite way to paint.  SO much easier.  Once the paint was totally dry, I took the above sander again and made some of my marks.


See it?  It just makes it "shabby" and beats it up a bit… a look I like… it's not so pristine. Then, we placed it.  We added the shelf below which we found for less than $10 at Ikea (it had to be painted too)...
During
But it was pretty sloppy.  We had to organize it.  I really like the look of a "table-desk"  but the problem with tables, there's no storage.  First, we secured this "pencil holder" to the wall.


Next, we went back to Ikea and bought more storage.  For pennies.  That place is so cheap!  I don't recommend everything but if you find the right stuff… so worth the drive!



Then, everything that was on the desk went INSIDE something!  Key.  We added a pretty blanket and pillow to the bench….  voila.


There's also a cork board and paper organizer kitty corner (catty corner whichever you prefer) from the desk.  She loves the whole thing.  Now it's all business.
After
I love that she loves it… because it means more to me than buying a new Restoration Hardware desk.  And the best part, you can literally see the memories... right on the top!

Circa 1980's...
and it's clear why.  

6 comments

  1. That is so awesome that you have that desk!! I love how you repurposed it to make it work for you now!

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  2. omg-- I absolutely adore this!! super cute idea Nicole.

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  3. thank you… labors of love almost always come out great!

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  4. Wow, that is incredible! It looks great

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  5. A-MAZ-ING! Can you make one for my daughter?

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    Replies
    1. so easy… you could so do it yourself this weekend! ;)

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