Repurposed Nightstand into Child’s Desk

Warning! Very heavy picture post! You might want to grab a cup of coffee, or your other favorite beverage.

I got this nightstand/side table last year at a yard sale. After a year in my garage it suffered a little water damage. (we had a very wet spring and early summer)

However, I wasn’t going to throw out a perfectly good table--

I pried off the bottom trim, and used my circular saw to trim off the bad wood.

 

I located a piece of plywood in my stash, it was nearly the PERFECT size.

I removed the top from the table.

I needed two legs. I get out a couple of options.

I wanted to frame out the top of the plywood so that you wouldn’t see the raw edges.

I mitered the corners.

I used my Kreg Jig® K4  to make pocket holes in the plywood.

I screwed the facing onto the plywood, then sanded it all down.

It’s coming together.

Oh, this is ugly-

I grab some molding out of the garage and get busy measuring and sawing.

Kelli-this is for you! How to trim out the bottom of a piece of furniture.

Do you see that line? It’s not a measuring line, it’s a directional line. When I lay my board on my piece of furniture, I make a line showing the direction that I need to cut the wood.

To the compound miter saw. I cut it at a 45 degree angle, with the board directly up against the fence.

For the opposite end, I flip the saw to the other side.

Again, holding it up against the fence of the saw.

When I do this trim, I do the angles/corners first. The left and right piece I cut a little long, because I can always straight cut it to the right length. I nailed it in place with my nail gun.

I measured, marked and cut the legs to the right height.

Now, I’m on to the legs. I used my Kreg Jig  to make pocket holes on the legs.

I dry fit it to make sure the legs are at the proper height.

In this picture you can see the pocket holes I drilled to attach the facing. I placed the leg on the piece and drew lines so I could figure out which way to drill the pocket holes on the legs.

I used Gorilla Wood Glue to glue the legs. I typically don’t use glue with the pocket holes, but I wanted to make sure I had a great hold when I secured it with my pocket hole screws.

After I get both legs on, I start taping it off for painting. I taped all around the top . . .

. . . then I put newspaper on the top and taped it again.

Then I broke out the spray paint! Last year my sister gave me tons of spray paint, I’m about ⅓ of the way through the stash.

I filled the holes with drywall mud. What does this color (blue) make you think of?

After I finished spray painting the desk, I painted the top with several coats of chalkboard paint.

I conditioned the top with chalk.

Once I started spray painting it, I thought to myself, this looks like a Smurf! I was trying to make the desk non gender specific.

What do you think of the knobs? The original hardware would not be appropriate for children.

This might be my favorite repurpose this year! It was a lot of fun to see it all come together. This chair however is not the chair I’ll be selling with this desk. Jan gave me this chair, I spray painted it black. About a week later she gave me two more chairs. One of those chairs matched this chair, the other is a vintage school chair. I will sell the school chair with this, and then I’ll have a “pair” of chairs for another project. Thanks Jan! I appreciate your thoughtfulness!

What have you repurposed lately?

gail

Related Content: See More Desk Projects Here