Friday, January 21, 2011

Our New School Desk

Today, I am going to show you what we were working hard on before Christmas.

Our new school desk.

We have converted our formal living room into our schoolroom.
Well, I had better change that we are working on converting it into the schoolroom.
We have two walls finished, and one to go (the forth wall is open to he family room).
I will start with some before shots.



Here is a picture of the wall in the formal living room before the desk.
The sofa was nice for extra seating but there is a sofa on the opposite wall also.
I was willing to let go of the sofa in order to have our schoolroom be in a better place.



This is what the cabinets looked like when they were in the dungeon (otherwise known as our scary, dirty, dark, cold basement).  You will be able to tell that we took the doors off of the top row of cabinets, closed in the middle with a self and added trim.  I will go over all those details in a future post with lots of how to's and pictures.  We also decided not to use the lower cabinets and built a table top, again I will cover that later.

For now I hope you enjoy our after photos.


















You can read about how we built our desk here

58 comments:

Kat said...

Cha Cha, I love it! It looks like a darling and cozy place to learn.

Tiffini said...

I love this!...makes me miss homeschooling..:( I love school supplies...back to school @ target or walmart is my favorite time:)
SO light & bright - it will be a joy to go to school

Kalleen at Second Street said...

Seriously Cha Cha, let me pick my jaw up off the floor. That is amazing. I can't get over it. It's beautiful. You have some serious decorating skills. I'm not exaggerating. This might be my favorite before and after post ever.
Kalleen

Unknown said...

It's beautiful! I love how you've personalized the wall unit and put it in a place that makes more sense for your family.

The Pennington Point said...

Wow! It's fantastic! You did a great job on those dungeon cabinets. Really great. I can not figure out the layout of your house. I may have to get you to draw it out on a napkin next week so I can get a better idea of where everything is. Love, love love the school desk. Lisa~

Becky said...

Such an inspiring place to study! :)
Thank you for sharing!

KJ@letsgoflyakite said...

Wonderful makeover, that beaker pencil holder is a super idea. I love everything about this space.

- Visiting via the Weekend Wrap Up

Jenny said...

I love it! I wish we had a dedicated spot for homeschooling besides the kitchen table!

Sarita said...

Oh my gosh, that is beautiful! I love the way you styled everything :-)

Opie Dawn said...

Such an amazing space for school! Great job!

Becky@OrganizingMadeFun said...

I really like how you not only took off the doors on top, but painted the insides a dark color! It really draws your eyes upward. I did that with my kitchen cabinets but they are the same color inside. I have been trying to think of what to do with that area {even though I have pretty baskets} and I really like the dark color. I'm going to have to sleep on that...maybe borrow your idea! Great job...it's really nice. I don't homeschool but if I did, this is how I'd want to be set up!!

Becky B.
www.organizingmadefun.blogspot.com
Organizing Made Fun

Unknown said...

absolutely dreamy!! nicely done!

The House Creative said...

Wow! Beautiful space. I love how it turned out.

Mrs. Kelley Dibble said...

If I'd had this when I was homeschooling our girls, I would now know without a doubt that I had died and gone to homeschool heaven!

Unknown said...

I love the changes you made to the cabinets! What a sunny, gorgeous spot to work.

Between You and Me said...

I can't believe how much better it looks..Cha-Cha. seriously.

honestly, it's one of the best "school room looks" in the middle of the house that I've ever seen!!!

you did good, girl!

{northern cottage} said...

oh my word - I LOVE This....and all the little details bring it all together...removing the upper cabinets was brilliant...off to explore your blog more!

Blessed Mommy of 2 said...

Wow, this is awesome :o)

Pamela said...

My daughter and I want to come have homeschool at your house!

Sabrina said...

This is awesome. If you have time to respond, I'd love to know how you did the desk. Is it an old table chopped in half (if so, how?)or did you build it up from separate parts. I adore it!!!!

Angie@Echoes of Laughter said...

Really lovely! I love that you moved it from the basement to the main floor...I am sure that it feels so much warmer and brighter to everyone! It's just perfect in every way! And all the accessories are so pretty and fun to at! Angie xo

Melissa N. said...

WOW, we are homeschoolers also and My kids would love that space! Great job!

Morgana of SeeMorganaBlog said...

Wow! I think my son would actually do the work I assign at a desk like that. : ) It's classy and fun all at the same time.

Unknown said...

WOW- BRILLIANT! LOVE THIS SPACE, GREAT JOB! jen

Michele said...

It looks great! You did an amazing job. I saw some Burt's Bees. My favorite!!!

nest of posies said...

finally!!!! got my computer back so now i get to see what all the buzz is about!!!

wow wow wow!

ths looks incredible. it looks so custom. well, i guess it is custom. it all looks fantastic. the cabinets are amazing. along with the school desk. girl, you've been busy!

see you super soon!

xoxo

Kristina @ A Home Made by Kiki said...

Great job! It looks like a picture out of a magazine! I'm your newest follower...can't wait to see those details you plan to post

Sally @DrinkingFromMySaucer said...

The cabinets look amazing. What a great idea!

The Autocrat: Haley said...

Totally amazing! Great job!

April said...

That is such an awesome area! I would love to have something like this when I start homeschooling my kiddos! come by and link up to my Sew Crafty Party & Giveaway!

http://wildflowersandwhimsy.blogspot.com/2011/01/agape-love-boutique-giveaway-sew-crafty.html

foreverdecorating said...

Impressive!

Grace @ Sense and Simplicity said...

What a great desk and such a clever idea to use the old kitchen cabinets with a work bench under them.

Barb @ The Everyday Home said...

Wow, wow, wow! Amazing use of old cabs. Love this wall and I like the legs you used for the counter. Awesome project results! Thanks for sharing. Blessings, Barb

Pam @ Our Adventures in Home Improvement said...

Wow, what an amazing transformation into such a beautiful space! Nice work!

Allison@FabRehab said...

So so so fantastic!

Dana @ Cooking At Cafe D said...

Love it!
What a fun place to learn.

And, if you have a dinner party - kid sleep-over, whatever - you can still use that area for a buffet (maybe kid-friendly snackage) :)

The Farm-Marm said...

I love it! I've been homeschooling for 11 something years and only the first year did i have a school room. I miss it fiercely! I'm loving what you did with the table. Can I ask..where's the other half? hehe! I used to have a old (not antique) harvest table that I thought about doing this with. But it had drop down leaf's on both sides. The middle part was only 12" wide. How deep is your table? I ask because i wonder how much space the kids need for laying out their books and such. we have a junky plastic topped buffet 4x2 1/2 table that we use right now..but hubster usedit for processing chickens, pigs and deer last month..so needless to say i don't really want it back! ;) It just needs to stay the utility table. Would 24" be deep enough or too much?
Love your projects and I'm a new follower! ;)

Sarah Pinault said...

Oh that's beautiful - so much more in keeping with your style than the dungeon! I love it, you have me looking at walls in my home to do that with and I don't even home school!

Pamela said...

That is a marvelous spot!!

Caroline @ The Feminist Housewife said...

I cannot even believe those are the same cabinets! Absolutely gorgeous!

Way to go!

Caroline @ The Feminist Housewife said...

P.S. I'm your newest follower! Love your blog!

Unknown said...

Wow this looks great!
I am in the process of something slightly similar at my house, ready to start our new school year next week.

Stacy of KSW said...

Oh wow Cha Cha!! This is beyond fabulous, I've been thinking a lot lately about how we will need a space in our home as the kids get older to work on the computer & other things while still being near us. Looks like I have found the perfect inspiration piece, Thanks

Marvin said...

Love it, so conducive for learning! I like the arrangement and the color combination of the project.

My wife and I started our DIY home remodeling project last week. We had our do it yourself house construction guide at home too. My wife researched about DIY houses construction tips online so we have so many inspiration for the project. Thanks for sharing the photos!

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

Cha Cha - This is fantastic use of space. Fanulous makeover - the white is stunning! Thanks so much for linking to the Sunday Showcase - I greatly appreciate it. I'll be featuring this today. Hope you have a wonderful week ~ Stephanie Lynn

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here said...

What a fabulous space! I love it.

Design Love said...

This made my heart skip a beat! I would love this space for all kinds of things, crafts, homework, gift wrapping.....whatever! It's beautiful!!!

Cindy

Linda@Coastal Charm said...

Awesome looking space...love the chairs!

Blessings,
Linda

Maureen said...

I love how this looks - inviting place to study.

Kathie said...

Wow! What a beautiful space. I'm saving this as inspiration for our school room! Thanks for posting.

{deflated notions} said...

you are probably going to think i am crazy, but where did you get the suitcases?
btw... this is BEAUTIFUL!

Erin said...

I LOVE THIS! I'm so happy I found your blog - You have such great ideas and I'm your newest follower! I'd love it if you'd follow me back: http://stillwaterstory.blogspot.com/

Again, you did a fantastic job with this!! :-)

Kim said...

Amazing! You have an awesome blog and beautiful home. I'm here from Kimba's and gonna follow you from now on!
xoxo,
Kim

Oliver Alcarez said...

Magnificent! I really love it.

Paula said...

I absolutely LOVE this! Perfect in so many ways! Thanks for sharing!

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