We have lots and lots of house projects to tackle. There is an on-going list and I blame Pinterest for this. However, we have found a number of ways to build, make and create without spending a bunch of money. One of these projects was the kids’ desk.
Our kids end-up with homework most nights. They also need a study space where they can sit and focus on their homework and also color, drawl, etc. Their upstairs play area is a middle-sized room that was perfect as an area to play, read, do homework, etc. So, therefore we needed to purchase, find, build, etc. a desk. But I hated to spend a lot of money on a desk that my kids would outgrow.
After a lot of searching on Pinterest, I settled on a long desk, that would fit two kids (instead of individual desk or the kids having to share) using some crates. All it took was some planning, painting and assembling of chairs but it turned out great and only cost about $120 total ($60 of that was two new chairs).
I purchased everything from Home Depot minus the stain. I love this stain and it is what we use on our stairs and railings in the house. The wood top, is easy to stain and I choose a kind of pine to use. But there is big selection at Home Depot to pick from. They all look very similar but respond to stain differently and vary in durability. Another idea for the top of the desk, if you can find one, is a flat door, then cut it down in width.
The Chalk Paint was perfect as I wanted a flat white that had a little texture for the crates. I didn’t get too picky about the paint job on the crates because they are really there for storage. I could have utilized other items for legs such as a sawhorse or filing cabinets but then I saw my cost going up. The sawhorses would have been great but they were normally to long which made the desk too deep and they didn’t have storage.
The chairs were a little more of cost but they went together very easily and are very durable. We will be able to use them in other ways when the kids get older as well. But a good way to save money on this project is to purchase old chairs from an antique store or garage sale.
After everything was painted and stained, we measured and had to cut the desk top down some in depth to make more proportional and less top-heavy. We are so pleased and so are the kids with their new desk space! One project down, about 20 more to go!
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