When the kid was 2 we moved into this house and I set up a small table in the corner between the kitchen and dining room so she could color while I cooked. As the years progressed, it became a space for all of her art projects and school things. No matter how often I asked her to clean it up, it was always a magnet of clutter and drove me completely crazy. Then one day it finally dawned on me – this now 7 year old first grader needed a {mess containing} desk.

For various reasons, we have lots of random furniture in our basement. One of which was an old desk that belonged to my Grandma back in the ’60s. It broke during our last move and I didn’t have the heart to junk it, so it sat – broken – in the corner of the basement. I wondered if maybe a new coat of paint would make it usable for the kiddo.

I found this how-to for painting old laminate furniture over at LiveLoveDIY – which was a wonderful {and very understandable for the uncrafty} step by step tutorial! It worked perfectly on this old desk!

I let the kiddo pick out the color – and she apparently has an eye for design already because she decided the chair should be a darker shade than the desk. Then I found a scrap of fabric at the store that worked beautifully with the paint and I even have enough left over to make a little pillow for the back of the chair.

With only minimal supplies the little old desk looks good as new! It took me about 4 days (allowing each coat to completely dry) and about $35.00 in materials.

Necessary Items:

• a little wood glue
• mineral spirits {we had a small episode with not having mineral spirits ahead of time to remove the primer from our hands – nail polish remover will work in a pinch}
• paint brushes
• adhesive primer
• two coats of paint
• polycrylic top coat
• fabric scrap
• staple gun

Pin it! and find items in your basement to upcycle new life into with a beautiful new coat of paint!!

It sure does make me happy that my Grandma’s old falling apart desk now has new life and will be enjoyed by my daughter for many years to come!

Do you have an old piece of furniture in your basement? A little paint might just bring it upstairs!! Share your projects in the comments below!