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Print Back to School: Dynamic Desks
by Gail McCauley
Today's student desks can be both playful and practical! From whimsical locker style shapes to classic student desk styles, up-to-the-minute work stations for students are available to coordinate with any style of decor and eagerly please both parents and children. Regardless of the student desk style that is selected, painted touches can be added to the area in order to stylishly and functionally customize your child's study space.
Computer workstations are available in a variety of fabrications for students, often combining wood with metal for sleek and contemporary looks. Plain wood desk tops and keyboard pull outs can be painted to coordinate with a child's bedroom color scheme. A great idea for a family project, consider involving your older student in the painting process!
Metal and wood shelving as well as bookcases, are practical study area accessories that also can be painted in colors that mimic the desk or echo other bedroom furnishings such as bedside tables, chest of drawers and headboards/footboards.
Consider spray painting inexpensive mesh pencil holders and wastebaskets to further personalize and accentuate the modern edge contained within this study space vignette.
Providing ample storage and organization, large wall systems can incorporate side cabinets, adjustable shelving and large, open style hutches to accommodate more than one students school necessities. Often available in natural wood as well as white or a solid colored finish, these oversized units can make study time practical and accessible to multiple members within a family.
An attractive way to customize this multi-family member space is with the use of painted baskets that neatly fit into any of the open shelving areas. Consider color coding each basket according to each sibling who utilizes the study space. Or, spray paint the baskets using the most predominant colors that are contained in the room's color scheme.
Traditional desk, hutch and bookcase combinations are classic study option favorites that compliment any style of decor. Rather than painting any of the large pieces contained in this trio, why not add pizzazz by painting accessory items that can be attractively displayed within any of the pieces? Consider painting ordinary clipboards, plain desktop organizers and stackable nesting containers to lend a fresh, updated look to the traditional study area. Or, add a dash of unexpected color to the base of a table lamp, the metal trim on a wall clock, or the wooden trim belonging to a cork board!
Regardless of its fabrication, virtually any style desk or desk related accessory is a possible candidate for paint! Allow your students to brainstorm with you to compile a welcoming study space where each child looks forward to spending time every day!
Gail McCauley is a U.S. based interior decorating writer whose features have appeared in shelter magazines such as Good Housekeeping's Do-it-Yourself, House Beautiful's Home Remodelling and Decorating, and Log Home Living. She writes monthly ongoing paint decor content for the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute's website and is a media member of the International Interior Design Association.