The Makeover of a $5.00 Thrifted Kid’s Desk
Sometimes finding stuff at the thrift store is like a furniture famine. Everyone is afraid that they won’t find something good, so when they spot it, they snap it up so quickly.
That’s what I did with this kid’s chair. I was walking down the aisle and nearly the same time that someone else stopped in front of this chair, I said, “Wow, this is so cute! And it’s only $5.00!” Some woman was like “OMG, yeah!” as if she were about to buy it if I didn’t.
Ummm……Rule #1 at the thrift store–never let someone grab something before you. 🙂
So I quickly loaded it in my car, with a cat-eating grin on my face. I knew I had scored something great!
BEFORE
It was cute, but with all that natural wood, a bit “BLAH…”
AFTER!
But after slathering on Annie Sloan chalk paint in Aubusson blue, with white accents, and a chalkboard on top, this piece was AH-mazing!
The blue was so crisp against the white. It looks expensive, doesn’t it?! Little does anyone know it was only $5.00 :).
The drawer on the side was perfect for chalk! And I wanted to draw attention to the drawer so I created a white square around the edge. Love that!
There’s tons of storage for my smaller boys to keep all their chalk!
How to Create This Look
Adding a chalkboard to the top is pretty simple. You just need some chalkboard paint or the Rust-Oleum chalkboard spray paint.
I prefer the spray-on kind, but in this case, it was easier for me to use the brush on chalkboard paint since I didn’t want the whole top to be covered in spray-on chalkboard paint.
You’re also going to need some sheets of alphabet stickers. If you’ve got a Silhouette Cameo cutting machine (I love mine!), you can cut out vinyl letters. But not everyone wants (or can afford!) to drop a few hundreds on a Silhouette and accessories. Cheap letter stickers work well, too! :). After I placed the alphabet stickers, I used Annie Sloan Soft Clear Wax over them to seal them in.
And be sure that you prime your chalkboard first. {{{{Insert face slap here…}}}}}. LOL
I was a dum-dum and forgot to prime the chalkboard before it was used! To prime a chalkboard, just rub the side of chalk over the entire chalkboard and then wipe off. Then your chalkboard will work nicely :). If you don’t prime, writing this this from your kids will totally stain in. {{{{LESSON LEARNED}}}}}
So what do you think?! Even though I’m sure you won’t find this unique little chair at your favorite thrift store, you can still use the idea for lining alphabet stickers along the edges, so your little one can practice 🙂
Have you refinished any desks for kids? What kind of designs/styles did you go for?
Download the 5 freebies!
Thrift Diving inspires women to decorate, improve, and maintain their home themselves...using paint, power tools, and thrift stores! Use these 5 printables, checklists, and ebooks to get started!
WOW! What an amazing job you did. LOVE the idea of adding the alphabet and numbers for subliminal learning.
Love your blog Serena, It’s so real…ie hey, I could do that! I think you should keep on doing just what your doing – showing real life working/moming/wifeing women that we can still get creative things done.
The chair is adorable and so is the little boy! I’d like one of each, please.
LOVE WHAT YOU DID WITH THAT CHAIR! It is so seriously cute. Doll and teddy bear collectors could also use it as a prop for display.
Your projects are always super adorable! Your vision for this stuff is really amazing. I LOVE that blue colour, too.
That’s one of my favorite blues! It’s no wonder I run out so often. LOL 🙂
Thanks Anne!
Oh, this is just too cute.
Thanks, Carole!
This is AWESOME! I so want one just like this but in a grown up size! 😉
Yeah, that would be cool as an adult-sized chair! I should try to make one. It would probably collapse on me. LOL!
But what a wonderful chair it would be . . . . until the moment of collapse! LOL! 🙂
Delightful makeover. Your son sent a smile spreading across my face. So cute.
Awww…thanks, Alys. I have 3 of them! I should do a post featuring all of them. They look sweet, but MAN….are they loud… LOL
I love the color you used on this desk makeover. The addition of the letters and numbers adds the perfect touch to the top. Thanks so much for sharing with this week’s Throwback Thursday party.
How darn cute! I love the colors you used as well. Thanks for sharing at Throwback Thursday.
xoxo
Denyse