Old Desk Turned Into A Dressing Table

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I love how I was able to turn my old desk into a dressing/vanity table.

We’ve been doing tons of small projects at our new-to-us house, but by far the most major home renovations have been to the kitchen and master bath.  Our kitchen was completely ripped out and is almost finished {yay!}.  You can see my post about the most recent updates to it HERE.   Much of the master bath was ripped out too, but not as much as the kitchen.  It feels so good to be at the point that I can finally get to the fun part!

 

Master Bathroom Makeup Table.Pin

Have you seen the before photos of our new-to-us house?  If you have, you may remember that we were not enamored with the master bath!  Before we got our hands on it, one side of the bathroom was filled with a shower, ginormous step-up spa tub and the potty.  Yeah – not really the look I was going for.

 

 {previous owner’s decor}

Master Bath Before Photo with wallpaper on the walls.Pin

 

We are not bathtub people, but we are people who enjoy a large shower that includes a bench.  I also prefer a closed in privy.  So we ripped out the tub, enlarged the shower and added a room for the privy.  All of the plumbing stayed in the same location, which was a big money saver.  You can see that a nook was created when the tub was removed and the privy room was built.  Those are the old vanity mirrors leaning against the wall in the nook.

 

Renovating the master bathroom.Pin

 

My original plan was to add an armoire in the nook that would contain all of our linens and bathroom necessities.  But, I quickly realized that a large piece of furniture would be too much for the space.  Plus the depth of it would have blocked some of the glass shower wall on the left side.  So I switched to plan B, which was to add a dressing/makeup table in that area.  I found just the right piece after what turned out to be a very frustrating search.

 

The old wooden desk in the corner of the room.Pin

 

This is what that same area looks like today.  {You might notice that it looks like there’s a gap in the shoe mold on the left side.  We were waiting for some extra tile work to be done, so Pookie just needs to get in there and nail it down.}

 

An old desk recyled into a master bathroom dressing table and makeup vanity.Pin

 

I didn’t sand the desk at all, but I did wipe it down with mineral spirits to remove any oil and furniture polish build up.  I painted it with a coat of Zinsser primer and two coats of soft white oil based gloss paint.  Don’t be afraid to use oil based paint.  I believe it gives a harder/stronger finish than latex and the oil based paints of today don’t have nearly as strong of an odor as oil paint from the past.

 

Blue and white lamps are on the desk.Pin

 

The beautiful dressing table is large enough to allow me space for a few sentimental and decorative items too.

 

There are pictures of the Granddaughters and eyeglasses on the top of the desk.Pin

 

A vase of pink flowers are on the desk.Pin

 

The next challenge was to figure out what to put above the dressing table.  I started out searching for some art prints, but then remembered a set of old, dark brown shelves that I purchased from Bombay back when they had their retail stores.  As with the old desk, all it needed was a coat of primer and a couple of coats of paint.

 

Hanging shelves above a dressing table and makeup vanity in the master bathroomPin

 

The nice thing is that I was able to pull all of my decorations from my stash and didn’t have to spend a dime dressing it all up!

 

There is blue clear glass, decorative plates and vases on the white shelf.Pin

 

Turn an old desk into a beautiful dressing table poster.Pin

 

Now onto the next project!

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35 Comments

  1. Great idea! I haven’t used the huge tub in our master bathroom in the 8 years we’ve lived in this house! If it wasn’t for resale, I would pull that thing out in a heartbeat! I love what you’ve done. It make so much more sense!

    1. Thank you, Janet. When it comes time to sell, I’m sure the lack of a tub will be a deal breaker for some people. But after living so many years with that huge dust bunny collector in our last house, I just flat out didn’t care! hahaha

  2. The bathroom looks so clean and well, inviting! Really nice. I have an unrelated question for you that relates to your stash. How do you organize your stuff? As I am collecting more things, I just haven’t figured out a way to organize it…and where. Do you have any suggestions?

    Thanks so much, Suzy, for your blog. I love it!

    1. Hi Sandy. In my last house, all of my nick-nacks were stored in two tall cabinets from Lowes (like the ones you would put in a garage). The cabinets were in a workshop room in my basement. Art pieces and mirrors were stacked along a wall in that same room. All of my artificial greenery, flowers and stuff like that were stored in bins up on shelves that my husband added to that room. Dishes and other goodies for tablescapes were stored in my kitchen cabinets, dining linens and all of my candles were stored in the sideboard in my dining room. I don’t have a basement in the house that we’re in now, so all of the stuff that was in those cabinets are in an unused closet that we added a bunch of wire shelves too. Everything else is in walk-in attic space. Hope this helps to give you some ideas for storage!

  3. Nancy Carroll says:

    Oh, I forgot about all that dated wallpaper!! It is so beautiful now! You did a fabulous job! That desk was the perfect fit and it’s beautiful painted white. Great transformation!!

  4. What a beautiful space, Suzy! You found the perfect solution for your niche! I bet you are having a blast decorating your new home!

  5. Suzy this turned out great and I love the shelf above

    Cindy

  6. Looks great! Love your accessories!

  7. Looks great Suzy! I am having so much fun watching you transform your home! It is truly coming along!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

  8. I love your nook Suzy, what a great use of the space and so pretty! I have to ask, did you remove the bathtub? Our master bath is totally overdue for a remodel and we have a giant tub we never use that I would love to take out.

    1. Hi Lauren. I just saw that I didn’t reply to you – I’m sorry! Yes, we did remove the tub. It was huge and to make matters worse, it had a step up to it that made it take up even more floor space. Our last house had a huge tub too that I would have gotten rid of if we had stayed there.

  9. Hi Suzy! Oh, it looks lovely! You did a great job.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia 🙂

  10. Suzy, it looks GREAT- I cannot even believe how different the space looks now!
    I use an old desk as my makeup table too. : – )
    I couldn’t live without my daily soak in my tub, so I wouldn’t have done it quite as you have but I absolutely love how you made it so beautifully your own. WELL DONE, ma’am!!!

  11. Very pretty! I love all your aquamarine accessories. They’re gorgeous!

  12. Wow! This is an Absolutely awesome.
    I drool with your lamps. These first to my bedroom.

    Where did purchased your lamps, Maam?

    1. Hi Chie. Both the lamps and the shades came from Target.

  13. I have had that exact shelf from Bombay for well over 35 years. It used to be in my living room but now I have
    it in my bedroom. I love it white so I will be doing that as soon as I can take it outside when the weather
    cooperates. I just love your blog.!!!!! : – )

  14. HI Suzy,
    wow, that is stunning, absolutely love the colors, and I am sure it is a real asset in your powder room.
    Great job!! Enjoy that wonderful new bath room…………
    Blessings,
    Nellie

  15. It looks beautiful! I prefer showers, too, but I don’t mind a bath every once in a while.

    Thanks for sharing at #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup ! I pinned your post to the group board Small Victories Sunday.

  16. Gorgeous! So pretty, I love the colors! Pinning, thanks for sharing!

    Visiting from the Coffee and Conversation link party