Teacher Desk Overhaul

After getting to inventory my new classroom, the first thing I wanted to accomplish was fixing my desk. You might be able to see in this photo that the wood veneer was coming off of the particle board top. Funnily enough, the first thing the janitors talked to me about was the state of the desk and wanted the know if I wanted to fix it. My resounding answer: YES!

Right after getting approval for this project, I took the wood veneer off ASAP.

I was on the right track, it already looked better.

I knew that I wanted to do something neutral enough that if I wanted to change my decor it would still match. And I wanted to be trendy, so chevron it is! I purchased the Frog Tape Chevron precut tape, and boy was it a life saver! I spent an hour and a half trying to do my own chevron, but wanted to pull my hair out! I think it turned out awesome! I used a 3-2-1 primer and let the desk sit for 24 hours. I then painted a single coat of white paint all over, just to give my stripes a nice shine. I used Valspar semi-gloss paint in Stone Mason Gray. I actually purchased one of the small samples for $2.98 and it was plenty for one coat of gray. I thought about doing a second coat of gray, but the Frog Tape says to remove it while the paint is wet, right after you finish painting. So better safe than sorry!

This is the result!! I love the way it turned out (below)! But I knew that I needed to give it something extra so that my arms wouldn't be rubbing against a rougher surface. So I bought a quick drying polyurethane to apply over the paint. The guy at Home Depot said that it wouldn't turn the white yellow. Well, shocker, it did! However, it wasn't terribly yellow, it just dulled the white. It gives it a almost vintage look, so I'm ok with it! Plus now, it's super smooth and perfect for my work space!

Welcome!

This is my first post on my blog! So exciting! I have enjoyed many teacher blogs throughout my college experience, and I thought it appropriate to start one of my own for my first year of teaching. I have gladly accepted a position in my hometown to teach 5th grade Language Arts. This school has a long standing history with my family. My grandparents graduated high school from this building 50 years ago, my aunts and uncles attended high school/middle school there, and both of my parents attended! I feel beyond blessed that I have the opportunity to bring it full circle and teach youngsters of my own!

After I was offered the position, I was lucky enough to get the chance to go in and see and work on my room! Below are some pictures of my classroom from different angles (can you tell I was super excited?!)

This is the view from my desk.

This is from the back, left-hand window.

And from the door.

(Please excuse the mess, starting from scratch resulted in piles of supplies that I have collected over the years...)

Starting from scratch is a little daunting, but I am excited about the challenge. These pictures were taken two weeks ago, and you wouldn't believe the changes my mother and I have made to this room in that amount of time. I will be creating another post on my DIY Desk Overhaul that I completed this past week!!