Learning Room, Phase 1: Desk & Chair

Our new home has a small, open room on the main floor. While this type of room is typically utilized as an office or reading den, we have decided to make this a room for Little Tomato.

This space is intended to encourage learning by emphasizing reading, writing, science, art, etc. Examples of such spaces can be found here. 

Part 1: Desk

Husband and I purchased a floor model desk at a children's store some time ago. I spruced it up by painting it the same color as the kitchen table with our leftover paint. As this had drawers, I removed the drawers from the table and the knobs from the drawers to paint it. I also removed the legs to fully cover the joint between the top and legs, as this is a visible joint. 

Part 2: Chair

The chair, post-sanding and pre-staining.

I found a wood children's chair at a thrift store for $15. The stain was worn and uneven, and did not match our house, so it was in need of a good sanding and re-staining. I wanted an aged grey stain for this, as our kitchen and dining room chairs are this color. 

Using this tutorial, I combined apple cider vinegar, coffee grounds, and steel wool in a bowl and let it sit for a few hours. I then used the steel wool as a 'sponge' to apply it to the chair. The stain needed a couple of hours of drying time to see the aging effect. At first it only appeared wet, and did not seem to change the appearance. I was impatient. {Shocking, I know.}

Note: On my first attempt at this stain I used stainless steel pads. This did not produce a good stain. I would highly recommend 0000 steel wool or similar to get desired results.

Final products:

I also changed out the plain wood drawer knobs of the table with some decorative iron knobs from Hobby Lobby. I highly recommend checking out their knob & pull section for your knob needs. Several knobs look strikingly similar to the Anthropologie pricey knob selection. As these were 1/2 off when I purchased them, I got them at a whopping total of $3.