Throwback to a cute little desk I picked up for $5 and updated

Goodness this post takes me back. This was before I got rid of that horrible wood stove in the middle of my kitchen and replaced it with a pellet stove. Conveniently the very spot I was filling in with this little desk was perfect for my new stove. I liked having a surface here on the other side of the sink though and this desk did that just fine. She isn’t with me anymore but I got years out of her for only $5 from a garage sale!

Here is the original post from July, 2016:

I can’t begin the story of this little retro desk until I explain first why on earth I need another piece of furniture in my kitchen. The plan was for the outside glass door there beside the kitchen sink to swing in and fold over in front of the window, so I chose a window the width of a regular exterior door and just left this area totally empty.

I had the dream of this door swinging in and against the window/wall: getting conveniently and awesomely and totally out of the way in the summer time when I would then use the outside screen door instead.

(8/1/2019 OMG I can’t believe its been three years since this post came out! Since then my kitchen (and this spot in particular) has gone through a ton of transformations, almost as many as I have myself! I’m a single gal now and I just finished remodeling this entire room!)

Well, once I got the sheet rock and trim on it the door would NEVER open all the way. Oops and shit. So, then I had this three feet of “wasted” space beside my kitchen sink under the window.

After a couple of months of living here I put a kitchen table in the empty spot and the coffee pots moved over because they’re being right there where I wash dishes on the other side of the sink was driving my crazy. So, this spot became my “coffee station” conveniently “out” of the kitchen but still totally in the kitchen to be “convenient” 😉

However, the old kitchen table I put there was just NOT cutting it! I had all of my coffee, tea, honey etc. over in the upper cabinets on the other side of the sink. Not convenient! What I needed was a piece of furniture that included storage. Standing in the kitchen I though to myself, “I would love one of those old dry sinks that they used to have in butler’s pantries!”

Well, it just so happened that very next day (on my way home from work) I passed a garage sale. I’m not gonna stop. Was that a little black desk? I certainly shouldn’t stop. I turned my car around. I’ll be quick! The little black retro desk was just hanging out, looking beat up and sporting a big red sticker on it with a price tag of $5! Sold!

I had to take the legs off of it to get it in my little car but – no problem! Does a little retro desk resemble an old dry sink at all?

Nope – not at all. But, at $5, I couldn’t beat the price tag and, on top of that, I knew I already had all the paint and materials besides to give it a makeover and start using it right away. And all of the drawers worked perfectly!

As far as I can tell this desk was given to at least one kiddo who gladly beat the top of it up and then it was moved to a garage (or somewhere wet) where it ended up losing its back (not a big deal) and sustaining quite a bit of water damage.

Because of its retro look and because I had some chrome spray paint left over from my Costco stool project I decided to spray the legs. With a leftover 2×2 and a piece of leftover bead board I built a shelf in, turning this retro desk into more of a buffet/console.

I found a grand wicker basket in town that was the perfect fit! I also had the drawer pulls leftover from my kitchen so that was a no brainer. I painted it out with black rustoleum and gave it several coats of semi gloss sealant to keep it safe. All it needs now are some little rubber feet to cover up the bottoms of the legs 🙂

There you have it guys! Is it perfect? No, not entirely, it is really kind of retro for my 100 year old farm house lol, but at least for now, it is a vast improvement and so convenient!

It is just awesome to have everything all organized and in one place now from teas to coffees to whatever you would want to put in them, its all right here now, so handy. The outside door over on the left opens and now sits against the side of my coffee station, this wasn’t how I planned it but I think its better then my plan would have been!

When I designed my whole kitchen I always thought my coffee pots etc. would be on the right side of the sink but they drove me crazy there – they were so in the way!

My “failed plan” actually created the perfect place now for my coffee station, funny how things do seem to work out from time to time!