Creative Uses for Old School Desks

Refurbishing Desks for Children

• An old school desk can easily be rehabbed to serve its original purpose once again. After assuring that the desk is rust-free and safe for use, add a fresh coat of paint. Let your child help you stencil colorful designs. Put it in a child's room for use in doing homework, or use it for storing toys. It's the perfect place to sit a life-size doll.

Refurbishing Desks for Adult Use

• Even though most adults have long since outgrown a small school desk, it can be put to use in other ways. Throw a table skirt meant for an end table over an old desk to get instant table space. Use it for storage as well.

Frame-Up

• Breaking up a wooden desk can provide material for a wonderfully antique-looking picture frame. Old metal accents can be painted or left to their original finish for a more vintage vibe.

Unconventional Gardening

• Play up the vintage appeal by using an old desk as a planter. Placed in a garden or backyard, an old school desk adds a touch of whimsy. Arrange it so that flowers or plants bloom from its open storage space.

For a Porch or Deck

• With some types of old school desks, removing the seat can yield a small table; this works best with the kind that does not have an interior storage unit. Paint or tile the flat work surface, and two desks could become a set of fun and funky end tables.