We bought this desk from friends about 20 years ago. It is an old melamine style desk that served us well, but I was ready for something a bit different. With the “hutch” on top, the actual work space was limited and this often posed a problem for me when scrapbooking. When in the midst of a project, my open layout is over 12″ and 24″, so that doesn’t leave much room for actually planning, creating and preparing the layouts

I found an antique table on Kijiji and decided it was time to get rid of the desk and make some changes. For the most part, I was just glad to see the desk go, but I knew I would really miss the big drawer on the bottom of the old desk. The drawer was originally designed to house a printer, but it served as the perfect location for my Cricut machine. I loved how it was tucked away, but ready to use with the simple pull of a drawer. I decided to take the desk apart and use the pieces to build a box for the drawer. It was pretty simple to do as most of the pieces already worked for what I had in mind. Basically, I just had to move the left side of the desk over to complete the left side of the drawer box and cut the top to fit. I also had to cut down the boards because I wanted it to fit below the antique desk I had just purchased.  I also added a bead board front that covered the existing drawer and extended to the floor.  I then sanded, primed, painted and distressed the drawer.  I used an old handle from our bathroom renovation to complete the look.  It is not perfect by any means, but it allowed me to keep the drawer and make use of the wasted space below the desk.  My scrapbooking room is small and I have to be very creative in order to keep it organized and functional. (I am certainly not complaining, I feel very fortunate to have a space to call my very own.)

Drawer

Drawer

Antique Table/Desk

The antique table was a library style table, with a large drawer extending across the whole front of the desk. The piece was oak, but they were only asking $40 because it was in very poor condition. I really didn’t mind the worn look on the drawer front and legs, but the top had to be sanded and refinished. By limiting my refinishing to the top of the desk, I was able to sand, stain and urethane with very little time or energy expended. The top came out beautifully and the large surface provides a great space for doing scrapbooking and other projects.

Drawer and antique desk. You can see this room is a bit cluttered. I have so many tools and gadgets that I just don’t have a “place” for everything. Maybe some day!

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