Repurposed Kitchen Table Wall-Mounted Desks + ORC Week 3

Boom.  Just like that we’ve hit the halfway mark of the One Room Challenge.  I may or may not be hyperventilating into a paper bag right now.  Kidding!

It’s actually been pretty smooth sailing since we installed our built-in bookshelves.  And after painting our entire upstairs space, next on the list was sawing a table in half.

Yeah, in half.

Since I’ve had my eye on the finish line, I was a bad blogger and didn’t even snap a photo of the sawing process. (I’m getting so slack, y’all!  Please forgive my hot mess self.)

But to refresh your memory if you’ve been following along on our playroom makeover journey, here is what this half wall looked like in the beginning:

Meh.

This wall left me really stumped for a long time.  Half walls are just whack (which is why it took me so long to figure out the best furniture arrangement).

But for a while I’ve been thinking Olivia and I both needed a pair of desks, one for her Play-Doh/coloring/homework when we get to that stage soon, and one where I can blog/craft while still being able to interact with her as she plays in here.  #MultitaskingMommyForTheWin

Supplies Used: (Affiliate links are provided below for convenience. For more info, see my full disclosure here.)

• Solid wood table
• Circular saw
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Level
• 2″x4″ board
• 1 3/4″ wood screws
• 2 1/2″ wood screws
• Fusion Mineral Paint in Midnight Blue
• 1 1/2″ angle brush (just my preference)

I found a solid wood kitchen table and four ladder back chairs on Craigslist for $100 total and knew it would be perfect to cut in half as desks for super cheap.

Even though I didn’t get a chance to snap a photo of the process, it was pretty simple.  Robert and his dad swooped in to handle this one.

1. We just used the tape measure to find the very center of the table top, traced a straight line with the pencil down the middle, and cut carefully with the circular saw.  Done.

2. We ended up cutting out the depth of the 2×4 on the table apron to give it extra security.

3. Then, we cut our 2″x4″ board to the width of the table, and using a level, we screwed the 2″x4″ with 2 1/2″ wood screws to the wall into studs.

4. We screwed the half table into the 2″x4″ with 1 3/4″ wood screws from the top.  Ta da! Instant desk.

We double checked with the level one more time too to make sure it was good to go.  These babies are suuuuper sturdy.  If Olivia ever climbs on top of these things, I feel confident they will hold (but I’d really love if she didn’t give them a test drive).

Here’s a shot of the 2″x4″ secured with screws underneath a desk.

Since we painted the walls a very light gray (Behr Seagull Gray), I wanted some contrast, so I gave the bases of the desks a couple of coats of Fusion Mineral Paint Midnight Blue.

Since four chairs came with the kitchen table, I painted two of those too.  I’ll probably end up selling the other two in a yard sale.  $50 per desk with chairs isn’t too shabby, huh?

A very sweet friend sent this “S” she pulled out of a dumpster that originally came from a Starbucks sign. It. is. awesome!  I’ve thought about painting it, but for now I’ve set it here as-is (sanitized after being in a dumpster, I promise).

And I found this globe at the thrift store for $5.

So now Olivia has her handy dandy coloring desk.

And I have my go-blog-crazy desk where I can sprawl out my to-do lists and check e-mails and go nuts with the hot glue gun while Olivia tosses around Legos like confetti.  Woo to the hoo!

I parked this repurposed jewelry box here to keep some of my office supplies organized too.

This side of the room is officially complete!  I still need to tackle decorating those shelves since I randomly just placed a few things up there while I figure it out.  You might be able to see a little peek of the reclaimed wood wall we’re almost finished installing too.  Eek!

Those wood crates are next to get painted.  And we have a rug!  I shared all about some of my favorites I considered in my playroom rugs round-up yesterday, but this one fit in best and is even more gorgeous in person. More about that soon though.

Here’s where we are on the playroom to-do list now:

• DONE: Install built in bookcases
• DONE: Paint and install desks
• DONE: Paint walls
• DONE: Find a great colorful rug
• DONE: Install ceiling fan (more on that soon)
• Frame and paint window (almost done)
• Install reclaimed wood wall (almost done)
• Make oversized storybook art
• Hang curtains
• Paint wood crates
• Slipcover sofa
• Find and makeover a coffee table
• Decorate shelves
• Implement and organize a toy storage system

The progress is feelin’ good.  Olivia and I might have to celebrate with a crafting session at our new desks.  And I might have to look around at more awesome things Robert can go all Jason on to saw in half.  Maybe have a Willy Wonka kind of office going on, ya know? It’d be all the rage.

I can’t wait to see what our Week 4 update will look like.  (And to be honest, the final reveal, but that’s kind of obvious.)

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*This post was sponsored by Fusion Mineral Paint.  As always, my opinion of my favorite furniture paint is 100% my own.

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