DIY Vintage Door Vanity Desk for a Teen

Slowly, but surely, we have been working on my younger daughter's room. I must admit, when we started, she was still a "tween" and she is now officially a teen. So, now that she is a teen I can officially call this project a DIY vintage door vanity desk for a teen. And the timing is perfect because I have been invited by Beth at Home Stories A to Z to share a "Thrify Under $50" makeover project along with a team of talented bloggers (links to other bloggers below). The idea is to rework a yard sale or vintage shop find and rework it for your home - all without spending more than $50. If you are coming here from Just a Girl - welcome! The blessing and the challenge with this room as that my girl has quite the imagination for what she would like in her room, like lofts and platforms and sitting areas, however, her imagination can not overcome space limitations. So, we have been trying to get creative with how to best use the space. Using a door that has been customized with shelves and a desktop gives her all the storage and use space she needs but takes up very little floor space and traffic space. First, I must apologize for leaving the comfort of the soft and pretty pictures and moving into the harsh and dark pictures. Putting this together in our mudroom was our best option. Also, although I am lamely holding something in place in the picture, not to worry, this was truly a team effort between hubby and I. I bought four doors off a local Facebook yard sale page. Actually, Dana found them. Anytime there is something good on there I always seem to miss out on it. He happened to be scrolling through and told me to check them out quick. We were the first to respond, with many behind us. I didn't want to take any chances to we went and picked them up that afternoon. The jury is still out on what we will do with the other three. As you can see, they were grubby and not too appealing but I never met an old door I didn't love. Of course, making something out of vintage door isn't very new for me. There seems to be a pattern. I have made a beverage station, a plate wall, the desk I am writing on right now, an herb garden, a table runner and even used one on a mantel. So, here is how we did it. To make it work, we used scrap wood and a cabinet door to create shelves and the desktop area. Whenever possible, we prefer to use what we already have so it ends up being a "figure it out as we go". We still have a pile of old spindles that used to be on our front porch and we found when we made our beverage station, they worked great. We used the solid end sections, cut at a forty five degree angles for the shelves and then turned sections to hold up the desktop. Using a level and corner brackets we attached them with screws. Nothing fancy or hidden because we knew we were keeping the look somewhat rustic and we would be painting it all. We screwed in from the back directly into the shelf and then to each end of the brackets. Here is a better look of how we supported the desktop with the spindle and the extra shelf below it. Once everything was put together I painted the whole thing in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White. To attach to the wall, we cut two thin strips of wood the width of the door and attached one near the top of the door height and one just above the floor molding. We attached them directly to the wall, into studs, with screws. Then we placed the door in place and screw directly through the door and into the wood brace behind it. Be sure to drill pilot holes to prevent splitting the wood of your doors. You can see the four screws in some of the pictures. Yes, I need to paint over those spots! We had a piece of plexiglass cut at our local hardware store so that it could easily be wiped up. The mirror is from the Target clearance rack and it is hung directly on the door with nails. We set a maple bucket with some fun scrapbook letters on it for her to put in her hair dryer and flat iron and there is a power strip tucked behind it. The hope is to keep all of the clutter of the wires out of the way and provide a safe place to put items while they are cooling. We added a yard sale found stool, spray painted orange and a pillow to soften the seat. The shelves are filled with different types and sizes of containers found at Michael's and Homegoods. She now has a spot for all of her bits and such and they are all organized by group. The best part is how much she realized she really doesn't use and she threw away so that there is a better chance of it staying organized. Fingers crossed. After we took the pictures we hung a wire framed wicker basket under the tabletop. In it she placed all of the items that she uses each day like hair brushes, etc. Now she has a place to easily put them away and access them without having to open a bin. And with that, we thankfully have a project completed! As much as we used this as a vanity, it could easily be modified for several other uses where space is an issue but you still want a little bit of vintage charm.

Tomorrow, head to Bless'er House for the next stop.

Here are the rest of the "Thrify Under $50" projects to be inspired by..

MONDAY

Home Stories A to Z Design Dining Diapers Finding Silver Pennies Anderson + Grant

TUESDAY

French Country Cottage Refresh Restyle Just a Girl

WEDNESDAY

Bless’er House Beneath My Heart Love Grows Wild Ella Claire

THURSDAY

Southern Hospitality Life On Virginia Street Four Generations One Roof Nest of Posies City Farmhouse

FRIDAY

In My Own Style Sand & Sisal Julie Blanner Fox Cottage Hollow

Thanks so much for reading!