Student's Desk Update to an Art/Study Work and Storage Unit

by Kaye

4 Materials

$14

20 Hours

Medium

When we were out driving, we passed a curb sign stating "Good Junk". Of course, we had to stop immediately and found this beautiful student's desk for $13.00. It was a little beat up but had terrific potential. In addition to the large area under the tilted lid, there is a area with sides for books on the top and large cubbies on each side.

We decided to redo it for our granddaughter to use as an art/study desk. We had almost all the materials "in-stock" at home so cost was going to be minimal.

student s desk update to an art study work and storage unit

Our first step was to remove the hinges and use steel wool to bring back the beautiful brass.

We removed the book stands so we could hand sand them before re-attaching. Luckily, I had just enough wood caps to plug the screw openings later. We sanded the piece back to bare wood and then painted the interior and book cubbies with flat black paint.

We found a perfect strip of birch at Habitat Recycle store for $.50 to tack onto the bottom of the lid to prevent papers from slipping down.

We used red varnish to contrast/compliment the cubbies and reattached the sides of the book area on top.

We put three coats of polyurethane on the top of the desk and two coats on the remainder of the piece. Our granddaughter is delighted with it.

I tried to find some history on this desk as I enjoy learning about the pieces I work on. No Luck. Has anyone seen a desk like this and can you help me identify it.

Thanks so much