Madelyn's new desk and chair

 

 It all started with this chair. I spied it in my Grandma's "Chic Shack" in California back in August. I immediately thought, "That would make a perfect chair for a little girl's desk!" We didn't even mention anything to G-ma at the time, but later when my dad went back to visit, I had him ask if I might have it someday, and she said, "Sure!" and he brought it home immediately. Yay!

It obviously needed a new coat of paint and a lot of cleaning up....Mark decided to go ahead and strip it. Turns out it had been painted over about seven different times, in all different colors (including red).

 

 Getting all the paint off that thing was a huge project that took many days.

Since we only have three bedrooms in our house, when Isabelle came along, we had to figure out where to put her and all of her stuff. Right now her clothes and changing pad are in Luke's room, she sleeps in our room in a playpen and swing, and then her permanent crib needed to make its way to Madelyn's room. That meant we had to move her little table and chairs out (which were way too small for her but she still loved and used them).

 Then one night while I was having a church committee meeting in the dining room, Mark and Madelyn started brainstorming about how to build a custom desk underneath the loft bed he had built her a couple of years ago. Next thing I knew, they were building it.

They wanted to keep the wood natural for the desk top, and put some stain on. That turned a violent shade of pinky-orange......and so white paint it was!

 Madelyn chose her favorite shade of blue for the chair.

 It is the perfect little spot for homework, coloring, reading (and cluttering up with all sorts of stuff) or watching movies on a portable player.

And Madelyn loves it! I find her tucked away under there all the time. What a great project.