Too Cool For School | Vintage School Desk Makeover

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by DecoArt as part of their Core Blogger Program.The first time I did a vintage desk makeover I did one for a little girl. You can check that on out, here. This time I was doing one for a very special little boy, my own.

Supplies:

• DecoArt Americana Chalky Finish Paint – Smitten, Everlasting & Relic
• DecoArt Americana Clear Chalkboard Coating
• Primer
• Stain – your choice for wood on chair
• Spray Paint – designed for use on metal
• Desk – cleaned and  prepped
• Chalk – for drawing fun once finished

*I used Hemp Oil to seal the wood on the chair

I don’t know what it’s like where you are but these things can be hard to come by. Either they’re too big or too small, depending on the child you’re redoing one for, or they cost a small fortune. People have caught on to our thrifting ways, folks and they are starting to take advantage!

Anyway, when I saw this perfectly sized one at Goodwill for $15 I threw it in my buggy so fast I was a little embarrassed. You know, that the people in Goodwill would notice that faced with such a great prospect I suddenly considered them my thrifting adversaries. I have been thrifting since before Macklemore made it cool and if there’s one thing I know it’s, if you find something you like you’d better scoop it up right then and there because it won’t be there when you come back. Guaranteed. {And speaking of Macklemore, that looks suspiciously like pee pee in the seat there, no?}

And the smile on this precious face says it all! He’d have loved it just like it was.

But it didn’t have to stay rusty, crusty and broken down.

I started by removing loose or broken pieces of veneer. These desks are riveted together so you just have to make the best of what’s there. There’s really no taking them apart.

Then because I wanted the desk to be extra fun for him it got a chalkboard top treatment. You can paint these veneer tops but you’ll want to prime them first. I used Americana Decor’s Chalky Finish Paint in Relic, two coats after the primer. Then I finished by adding Americana’s Clear Chalkboard coating, also in two coats. That way it will be able to take anything he can dish at it.

I sanded the veneer on the seat and the backrest and applied stain to spruce it up. I still wanted it to looked aged, just not haggard.

Then because my baby is a pink lovin’ man, I added some fun stripes also using the chalky finish paint in Smitten & Everlasting. I sealed it using Hemp Oil that I had on hand.

For the metal chair I wanted a gray spray paint with a flat finish but since I couldn’t find one I just used a gray primer instead. It gave me exactly the look I was going for.

It all pulled together so nicely and works perfectly in his new, modern Big Boy Room (see makeover here).

To say he’s excited about it is an understatement. I’m pretty sure he’d sleep in it if we’d let him.

It makes a perfect partner to the bookshelf we built him and encourages him and the love he already has for his books.

It was a great thrift store find, to be sure. And you can bet that if I see another one I’ll be throwing that one in my buggy, too. Not sure who for but…

So will you be off to the the thrift shop, humming Macklemore and getting your elbows ready in case you need to fend someone off a vintage school desk of your own?

It’s ok.

No judging. I completely understand.

Pinky swear.

Call me if you need backup!