Wednesday, October 07, 2009

vintage desks

about a month before my little trey was to start kindergarden i decided to home school. i thought about all of the things that i loved about kindergarden and i didn't want him to miss out on any of it. i am doing my best to make it awesome. something he will remember, think back to, and smile. i wanted it to be fun.

i found these two vintage desks on craigslist. they were old, rusty, and ugly.



i quickly sanded off any major rust.



i knew i wanted to paint these desks but i was worried that eventually the rust would become a problem after time, but i had no clue what to do about it.

when i don't know what the heck i am doing i have some simple steps that i follow that get the job done. i am sorry but i have to share this tip :o)

ladies follow the following steps:

1. look your best
2. put on a little perfume
3. head to home depot
4. find a home depot worker who is around your age but make sure you are way out of his league
5. add a tinge of airhead to your voice
6. ask your question

works like a charm every time :o)
(don't worry i have informed my husband of these steps and he is ok with it)

anyway so "i found out" at home depot that if you are wanting to paint something with rust you can first spray it with "rust-oleum" and it will prevent any rust from returning.



i taped off anything i didn't want sprayed and then i primed.



then i sprayed the desired color (chosen by trey and lucy)



i sprayed the seat a glossy black.

my husband had this great idea to spray the tops of the desks with chalkboard spray paint. it worked great!



here is trey testing out his chalkboard desk.



they have loved these desks! lucy will run to her desk and yell "let's do school mom!"






now go to craigslist, find something great and cheap, and spraypaint it.
you'll feel better i promise.


DIY Day @ ASPTL

83 comments:

Kim said...

Those are so cute! I'm going to have to watch craigs list for some!

Melinda said...

Oh my gosh! Those desks are so so so cute! I want one! Lol.

Kacie said...

That is awesome! I love how they turned out!!

Megan Marie said...

love this idea!!!!!! let me soak in your awesomeness.

Kacie said...

I forgot to say... I agree 100% with your steps for getting help at Home Depot. I've done that a few times myself and it works like a charm!

Lisa said...

These look great! So creative with the chalkboard paint! Love it...I'm doing a giveaway at my blog and want to invite you to join (giveaway posted yesterday Wed Oct 7)

Tonya said...

WOW! Those are amazing! Great job, and thanks for sharing your creativity!

SkinnyMeg said...

Those look awesome!!

DA&B said...

Those look awesome - you are so creative!!!

Patsy said...

What a great idea.

Stacey said...

You are to funny....great home depot idea!

Love the red and and pink...adorable!

Kelly said...

am in looooovvvveeee with these desks. I now need to find four of them and then I need to find a bigger house so that I would have room for them.

Anonymous said...

oh my heck, those are adorable! Im trying to decide if I want to homeschool. What made you decide to?

ps. i do this at home depot, and anywhere else i want something. lol. it always works for me too. and then i say, "i may be a mamma, been married for 3.5 years, but oh yah, i still got it!" (and husband just rolls his eyes.)

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Great idea to spray paint with chalk!!!

Jill@Barnes Yard said...

They turned out so, so cute!

Ashley said...

Way to go! I love them so much. Why are spray paint and I not friends. I have been trying it out on a few things the past few days and it is with no succsess and no love for each other. Plus it makes my forearm and finger sore:-) You're so talented!

Kari Sweeten said...

What an AWESOME transformation!!!

Serena said...

Those are perfect - they turned out great!

jlthomas said...

You are way too cute and talented!

Unknown said...

I got a couple of old school desks from a garage sale years ago and I've never done anything with them! Maybe now I'll spruce them up and put them back on my own garage sale.

Nancy

Francis Family said...

I just started following your blog and these are awesome! I also loved your steps on the home depot, SO something I would do!! Your too fun! Thanks!

Kelly Munns said...

you make me laugh...so...hard. love the colors. they look amazing.

Alaina @ Three Ladies and a Dad said...

I have two of these right now...and they need this! Now I have a project to do this weekend!!

Thanks so much...you are too awesome.

Jackie said...

Love it! They look great. The chalkboard paint on the top is a great idea.

Angie - treasuresfortots@gmail.com said...

You are AWESOME with a can of spray paint!!!

Megan said...

Love those desks! They are beautiful! And the chalkboard paint was a great idea!

community helpers said...

I love your page:) you are great cant wait till the Christmas ideas start rolling in your head for us to enjoy, thanks

Unknown said...

LOVE IT.

~MeLiSsA~ said...

Hi Tanya!
Those desks are amazing!! Great job, I am totally jealous and want to do the same thing.

BTW~ Taylor just wore one of the flower clippies yesterday we won from you months ago. She wears them all the time... they are sooo cute! Thanks again!
Melissa

Jordan and Chandra Smith said...

The desks turned out so great!!! Hey I was wondering if you ever got my e-mail. I never heard from you so I wanted to make sure you knew I sent one in case you didn't get it.

aunt choody said...

You are so funny.

Jordan and Chandra Smith said...

Ok so I just sent you another one, let me know if you don't get it this time!

Wendy @ Ramblings from the Sunshine State said...

Oh my gawd those are adorable!

Jenna said...

Oh my heck. That is so ridiculously awesome I can hardly stand it. I think I'd do better at doing my school work if I had one of those in my house :)

Anonymous said...

i love these desks! they turned out perfect! it almost makes me want to homeschool! great job!

Melina said...

Don't you just love spray paint! It might be my best friend! LOL! I was stopping by to let you know that I have an award for you! Just stop by the address below to get it!

http://rmpepperling.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-would-like-to-thank.html

Anna said...

they turned out great!

Sara said...

I had one of these when I was a little girl...mine was pink. I LOVE what you've done with these--so adorable. And you have the funnest tutorials, thanks!!

~Sara

Ribbonwood Cottage said...

Wow, first of all what adorable little kids. Love that red hair. My husband would have bowed down and worshiped me if I would have had a red haired little one....alas they were all brown haired! Big smile. You did a wonderful job on the desks! Love them. You did a great job on explaining everything too! Have a blessed day!
Debbie

Lisa said...

Marvelous transformations! Wait,I think I have one lurky outside now. Thanks for sharing.

Randi~Dukes and Duchesses said...

Those look adorable, like something you'd see in Pottery Barn.

From the Old InkWell said...

These are just adorable and practical too! How creative you are!

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

cute desks! adorable kiddos!
you did a great job!

Jennifer @ The Craft House said...

This is a really awesome makeover! Those desks can be used for years until the kids basically grow out of them! I suggest keeping them even then, they are beautiful now!

P.S: You rock for homeschooling! :)

Dresser Girl said...

CUTE!!

Suzann said...

What an AWESOME idea!!!

Chris said...

These are amazing! They are too cute for words! Great job!

Miss Mustard Seed said...

So cute! I love the chalk board paint on top. And the picture of your kids is just too cute! Congrats on being featured over at Kimbas. I was as well, so come visit my blog when you have the chance.

rachel blazer said...

NO WAY! so cute. now i want some old school desks, too! and your kiddos are A-dorable. do they come with the vintage desks? : )
thanks for sharing!
rachel

Unknown said...

Awesome job! These desks will make kindergarten so much fun for the kids and for you!

Aja said...

LOVE these desks! Great job. And your steps were hilarious and exactly right- I've used them myself many times! :)

Aja

http://strangeandlovelyride.blogspot.com/

Sarah @ Hennessey House said...

wow, these are SO great! what a fun idea :)

Jennifer said...

Very cute! Maybe stencil their names across the front? Happy homeschooling!

Danielle said...

I just found one of these desks in the "free" section on craigslist. Here to hoping it is still available!

Ashley @ AshleysBusy said...

You are brilliant! I love the colors your kids chose. And your kids are sooo cute!

kjgohogs said...

I found an old desk on craigslist here in Arkansas - I did the same thing! Thanks for the idea - I let my 2 year old pick out a spray paint color at Home Depot - (i let him pick between red and blue) he picked blu - Now if only the weather would cooperate and let me do the chalkboard paint! You can see it and hopefully the finishing touches on my blog - www.moorepartyof4.blogspot.com

Love your blog and ideas! Thanks!

Amber said...

They turned out so cute! How fun that each child has their own personalized desk. Love it!

Anonymous said...

Fantabulous!!!

Erin said...

ack! i love it!!!

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

What a clever idea to paint them with chalkboard paint. Love the little pink desk. I kinda want one for myself. =)

Unknown said...

Really great desks...from one homeschooling mommy to another, you may want to change the spelling from "kinder garden" to Kindergarten ;)

Mommy Words said...

Those are super duper cute! Man I wish I had that kind of craigs list luck! Awesome job!

hoopesfam5 said...

I just found out about your blog from my SIL, and I must say that you are so extremely talented!! Fabulous refurb projects, adorable photos, and easy-to-follow instructions. Thanks for sharing your talents!!

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hello...

Ohhh...what a fabulous project! I love how you refinished these vintage desks for your kiddos! Adding the chalkboard paint to the tops of the desks...genius! I know that your little ones will enjoy these for a long time! Love how they turned out...fabulous job!!!

Warmest wishes,
Chari @Happy To Design

Anonymous said...

I just want to say luv these I showed my husband a week later he was driving by a thrift store here in idaho and well he bought 2 for 1$10 I cant wait to get started thanks much luv your ideas!! Mirannda

~C~ said...

Your kids seem to be about a year ahead of my youngest two. I have a 9 year old, a 4 (almost 5) year old and a 2 (she'll be 3 on the 7th) year old. Our oldest is in public school and the middle child is in preschool at our church, I'm really thinking of homeschooling since schools in our state are pretty bad. Thanks for the great idea, I'll be scouring craigslist for something like this. LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog.

Kerri said...

I love those! Great idea. Spray paint is my best friend lately.

Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs said...

Love these!! I bought a "vintage" desk . . . or maybe retro - the kind we grew up with, anyway . . . that I bought for $2. Then I found out it has a bad word scratched in the top!! So, I have to spray paint it.

Honesty time: Is the chalkboard a pain to keep up with? Does it make a major mess on the front of their shirts or anything like that? It sure looks cool, and I'll paint the top black at the very least.

And, I use the same steps at Home Depot (or anywhere for that matter!). Glad to see that others are using the talents God gave them!!

Kristin said...

Very cute!! I truly believe that there's nothing a little spray paint can't fix!!

Heather said...

These are so Pottery Barn Kids but on steroids! Brilliant.

I love the pink and the red together....you are amazing!!

La said...

I have the exact same desk out in our garage waiting to be rehabbed. I picked it up at salvation army and haven't yet decided what to do with it. Someone had already painted this one red but did a really, really bad job! Yours look great! Thanks for sharing....

Sarah Lou said...

Oh my, I want these in my house so bad. Fabulous!!! Beautiful. Love the steps on how to get help at Home depot ( which Im guessing is a big hardware type place?) they are the sort of steps I use!

Rebecca said...

You have so many great ideas! :)

Lenetta said...

I just so happen to have one of these in my storeroom right now. :>) Love the chalkboard paint - looks like it's well used and well loved. I linked to this on my weekly roundup - post is here. Thanks!!

That Crazy Ajumma said...

Utterly C.U.T.E.
I never cease to be amazed at the things that can be chalked on!
Excellent job,the kiddos look very pleased.

Jenn said...

The desks are darling and I love the "out of his league" part of your tutorial. There is a much easier way though, and you don't even need to get out of your pajamas or waste good perfume. It is called "GOOGLE".

Jen said...

I just bought an old school desk for my daughter this morning from a consignment store. I knew I wanted to paint it and found your blog when I searched for 'refinish child's school desk'. Thank you so much for the information. Very cute desks, and blog, by the way!

Niki said...

Thank you so much for the tutorial! A friend of mine found the same desk for us on the side of the road and I can't wait to follow your steps for ressurecting it! We have bright blue walls, kelly green curtains and I'm leaning toward that red for the metal:) Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Looks very good, indeed those are some really old models.
viagra

Unknown said...

Glad I ran into this. I purchased the exact same desk for $20 at an antique store and was finding ways to flip it. I didn't know that there was such a thing as Chalkboard paint. I was going to purchase some chalkboard material and glue it on top of the desk. But I may try that paint instead. Did you use the rust paint to remove all the old paint or did you spray it first, then prime it and use the color paint?

Unknown said...

How did you prep desk top?

Unknown said...

I want to reprise mine since my grandson has,outgrown it. My dad found mine in the trash, score! The wood is amazing as it is, it was used in the 30's, 40's and 50's by the etchings into the wood, which I absolutely love, on one bottom side of the desk it says I love Elvis lol scratched into the wood. I don't want to change its character, other than a good sealer but I want to use it as a hall planter. Or photo shelf, etc Anyone have any ideas how to level the wood top without changing the integrity of the desk, meaning nit a,whole lot of drilling into it yet I want it to be level? ? Any ideas welcome.

Unknown said...

I want to reprise mine since my grandson has,outgrown it. My dad found mine in the trash, score! The wood is amazing as it is, it was used in the 30's, 40's and 50's by the etchings into the wood, which I absolutely love, on one bottom side of the desk it says I love Elvis lol scratched into the wood. I don't want to change its character, other than a good sealer but I want to use it as a hall planter. Or photo shelf, etc Anyone have any ideas how to level the wood top without changing the integrity of the desk, meaning nit a,whole lot of drilling into it yet I want it to be level? ? Any ideas welcome.