Digital Learning Zone

Red's Rustic Rehab
by Red's Rustic Rehab
5 Materials
$25
3 Days
Easy

I don’t know if anyone else was thrown into digital learning for this school like we were, but my county decided one week before the start of school that we would all start the school year digitally! Soooo, with that came every parent in my area getting school spaces set up and desks were sold out of every store around me.... so I had to get creative. Enter Facebook Market place! I swear that thing gets me in more trouble with my husband than anything else on earth! This is what I found!

Enter: Old school desk!


I found this little fella for $2 on Facebook, I went to pick it up at a warehouse store in Athens, GA! If you are out in this area, check out Power Surplus! The name made me think for years that it was like a heavy equipment warehouse, they have all sorts of large trucks and trailers out front, but silly of me to assume! They have tractor trailers of desks and chairs starting at $5! Inside they had all sorts of eclectic stuff! I could have spent all day... and my entire paycheck there! But, I controlled myself, got the desk I came for and a chair to go with it!

Yikes!


So this guy was in rough shape! The top was beyond repair, so I trashed this right off the bat, also tossed all the screws holding it together, but not before I bought replacements at my local Ace Hardware, just take a screw in with you and they can help you find a match, usually for cents on the dollar! I spent less than $5 and had the peace of mind that no one would be getting tetanus from the old screws!

Take it apart and prime it!


Take it all apart, clean it well, and apply a few good coats of primer! Make sure you clean up any rust that you may come across, I used vinegar and baking soda with a good piece of steel wool and scrubbed it all off, it was rather easy actually!

Add some fun!


I’m not going to lie, I was terrified if this color, but the kiddo is 6, and her room is a unicorn and donut theme, soooooo hot pink it is! I used spray paint for this project (less the desktop, more on that later) make sure to paint in light, even coats!

Add some contrast!


I debated between white or gold for the bottom half of the desk legs and the chair base, but the white seemed unfinished, so the gold won this round! I painted the bottom half of the desk legs and the base of the chair with gold spray paint and I’m obsessed! I also tackled those replacement screws, they will be viable on the desk legs as well as the back of the chair.

Start reassembly


One your paint has dried, I recommend letting it cure over night, start reassembling your parts! After seeing the gold against the pink I started getting really excited!

Sand the desktop


I bought a project panel from Home Depot that was 18” deep and 6 ft long, I cut that in half to have a larger 36” desktop. The desktop it initially came with was 24 inches but I wanted to be sure we had space for her laptop or tablet and any kind of worksheet or writing assignment that may need to be done after lessons.

Paint and assemble!


More painting! I used a high quality latex paint for the top and sealed it with a polycrylic top coat. Let cute overnight if possible, I assembled it after it was dry to the touch and let it sit over night before we used it.

The reveal!


This kiddos room has had more makeovers in her 6 years than I can count! She was so please with her little study space, and it brings back memories of elementary school for me! Who remembers having the desks?

Study hard!


Any parents out there digitally learning right now? Hope it’s going well if so! And I hope I inspire you to create a colorful, fun, and unique study space for your little! Happy learning guys!

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  2 questions
  • Carolyn from NH Carolyn from NH on Aug 24, 2020

    It is very nice, love the color, bet she does too. Could you have rounded the square corners on desk top? 👍🏻

  • Anita Moore Anita Moore on Sep 15, 2020

    How did you attach top to desk?


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  • Sissy Sissy on Aug 25, 2021

    I bought 1 of those desk at the flea market for 5 dollars but the top and the desk were in great shape , Cleaned i up and it is now in my she shed as stencil storage and small work area for me,

  • DN DN on Aug 25, 2021

    So cute! 🥰

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