Vintage Teacher’s Desk Makeover
On a trip to Goodwill, I discovered a vintage teacher’s desk.
Being a 26 year teaching veteran, I instantly fell in love with this desk even though it was in bad condition.
This piece is huge and heavy. Lucky for me, Mr. SP had driven his vintage Ranger to work and was able to drive out to Goodwill to pick up this piece.
Even luckier for me, two kind Liberty University boys drove up to Goodwill just as Mr. SP did and kindly helped him to load this piece onto the truck.
That evening it took all of my muscle power to help him to unload it and carry it around our house to our basement.
Refinishing the Vintage Teacher’s Desk
Since we do not have a dust collection system in our workshop, we sanded the desk outside.
The years had not been kind to this desk. Luckily sanding and stain was all it needed to bring it back to life.
Every surface of this desk was sanded with a rotary sander.
The rotary sander did not get into the corners, so Mr. SP got out the detail sander and was able to make short work of sanding those hard to reach places.
After completing this project, I purchased a Black and Decker Mouse Sander that is perfect to use to get into corners like this.
Stained Vintage Teacher’s Desk
I stained the desk with my favorite stain, General Finishes in Brown Mahogany.
The stain was protected with two coats of General Finishes Satin Topcoat.
One feature that really caught my eye when I spotted this piece at Goodwill was the design of the handles.
After sanding the wood, I painted the handles with several coats of Black Tie paint by The Plaster Paint Company.
To protect the paint, I sealed it with a coat of liquid wax also by The Plaster Paint Company.
Features of the Vintage Teacher’s Desk
This desk has so much storage! And guess what? It’s going to be my new desk!
We are going to have to do some rearranging in our office to make this piece fit and I can’t wait! I’ve never, even at school, had a large desk like this one.
This drawer is a filing drawer. I’m thrilled that I’ll have this to use and using it may allow me to eliminate my current small filing cabinet from our office.
Desk Accessories
Every desk needs a good lamp like this one from Ikea.
The globe is pre-WWII and was inherited from my grandmother.
The office chair that will be used with the desk was picked up at a neighbor’s yard sale for just $20.
All the chair needed was a set of new wheels and a good cleaning.
I am so pleased with this makeover and I’m glad that I rescued this desk from Goodwill and gave it a makeover.
I plan to use this desk for many, many years to come.
Desk Makeovers
These are the desks that I've made over.
What a sweet find! I have almost the exactly the same desk, just a little older and I LOVE IT! You did good giving that worn out thing new life, Paula. Enjoy!
This is a great desk. Love that you had a school piece for this makeover. I repurposed an old school door for mine. 🙂 You restored this desk beautifully.
Oh Paula, that is GORGEOUS!! I love the beautiful stain and the black handles, but I do not love the jealousy welling up inside me right now! 😉 Awesome job.
What a total beauty you made that Paula! The wood is gorgeous now! Love the little touch of black, perfect! 🙂
xo
Nancy
Oh ya, that sweet vintage chair is perfect with your vintage desk Paula! I used to have a desk exactly like that so I know how heavy that sucker is. You guys did a beautiful job restoring this piece to its natural goodness.
Wow you really brought this handsome piece back to life! Although I know you will miss the workspace it provided in many of your recent projects (ha ha) I know you will enjoy it even more in your office! XO
First of all, I am so glad you did not paint the desk black. I was a little scared when I first took a peek at it. It turned out amazing and the black pulls finished it off perfectly!
~Tami
This turned out so nice! I can see why you’re keeping it. The black handles look great with the pretty stain color.
This desk is gorgeous! I totally thought you put new hardware on there, I love the handles!!
What a gorgeous makeover – those handles !!!
This looks so beautiful. I absolutely love the drawer pulls you chose.
That turned out beautifully!
Wow! You really did an amazing job with this gorgeous desk! I love the black handles.
I love it! Where were you 26 years ago when I student taught and had a desk like this?!? Ha! That thing was considered vintage THEN and I remember that my pantyhose would get caught on that darn thing every. single. day. 🙂 You did a beautiful job restoring it.
Thank you, Mimi! You and I did student teaching probably in the same year. My mom had a desk like this at the high school where she taught and I’ll bet that her panty hose got caught on it as well. I’ll ask her! 🙂
Paula
Your desk looks amazing with a new stain job and black handles!
Oh my gorgeousness! This is perfection, love it. I will b featuring this on my blog for Brag-Worthy Thursday thank you so much for sharing it!
This came out stunning! I am so glad you decided to sand it down and stain it. You are so right too – those handles are great!! Can’t wait to see what it looks like in your office!
Great job and really glad you didn’t paint over that gorgeous wood! thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!
Thsi turned out absolutely gorgeous! Our To grandma’s house we go link party starts over at our place tomorrow morning, would love to see you there!
The desk is a beauty. It has such class and style and I love the chair you paired it with.
What a gorgeous desk! You are so talented. Thank you for sharing at Share the Wealth Sunday – we hope to see you again soon!
You did a beautiful job on this! I love upcycled furniture and found an old wooden student desk at a consignment sale that I plan to sand and re-stain. I hope it turns out as nice as yours!
Thank you so much, Shelley! I am thrilled with how it turned out and I know that I’ll enjoy it for years to come.
Hello,
Thank you for linking up at our Home Matters Party!
The desk makeover came out great! You came out with a wonderful finished piece!
Have a lovely evening,
Randi 🙂
#HomeMattersParty
Hi! I have almost this exact desk in my office and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to refinish it and this is perfect!
How many coats of the stain did you put on it?
Hello! I’m sitting at my desk as I type this! I think I only had to use one coat of stain on my desk. I also used a poly coat over the stain and it’s held up really well. Good luck with your project!
I love the contrast of the handles against the stained desk – what a beautiful revival you gave this desk!
Thank you! I’m so glad that I found it and I absolutely love having it as my work desk for blogging.
We have one in storage that belonged first to my hubby’s parents, then us. Just LOVE it, but they take up so much room! It is definitely the focal point in a room, and yours is now totally worthy! Love everything about its refinished look! Kathy, Treasure.maker
I just got this same desk and chair. Its covered in what I think is a black varnish. Stripping and sanding . what color stain did you use? The chair is gonna be a beast. Any pointers would be appreciated.
Good luck with your project! I was lucky and found my chair in ready to use shape. The desk needed a good sanding and after that I stained it with General Finishes stain in Brown Mahogany. The stain was protected with a coat of satin top coat (also by General Finishes). I love my desk but boy-oh-boy was it a beast to maneuver into our office. I would love to see a picture of yours when you finish it.
Paula
I have the exact same desk. I bought mine in Hawaii from a gentleman in the Navy. He told me it was an old naval desk. Im not really sure what era to stick it to. I was wondering if you had any info on the timeline they may have come from. I have seen desks close to it and the have said they are from the 40’s. Their handles have been rounded and not squared on the corners.
How cool that you have an Navy desk! I don’t have information on my desk. I don’t know any history of this desk. I called it a teacher’s desk but it could have been used in an office.
Paula
Hey I love how you refinished this desk!
I have the exact same desk I’m finally able to start refinishing.
I’m wondering if or what you did with the inside of the drawers?
The desk I have is from the 1930s and the inside of the drawers are musty and need an update as well.
What did you do/ would you recommend?
Hi i have a similar desk but it’s not real wood everywhere. Does yours was like that ? We tried to sand it but it was a mess. We decided to paint it white and stain the drawers . Thanks for your answer.
My desk is all wood. I’m sorry yours was a pain to work with but it sounds like you made it look good with paint and stain.