Teen Work Space, Before & After

When we got the stay at home order in mid March, I knew we would have to do some organizing at home. My daughter needed a work space of her own for school. Her current desk was too small, so I searched on line, including Craigslist, where I found this.
I wasn't sure if I wanted the top piece of the desk, but the owner asked me to take both. So I figured we could see if the top could work too. The price was just $25, its actually made very well and in great condition.

 

I knew we would paint it white (already had the paint). I painted 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of white paint. Being such a big piece, it was just very time consuming..note to self: don't paint on a windy day!

I picked up some new draw pulls at the local hardware store, my daughter just requested gold, they did have a few gold options...

The vintage vinyl orange chair she actually picked out at a local thrift store months ago. She loved it right away.  It's very durable and easy to clean.

She loves her new desk, and the extra storage. We painted the cork a light teal, which I already had too.

Thrift Store Find, Gunlocke Chairs

I had been looking for an office chair for my desk for sometime, just couldn't find the right one. I had a temporary one so I wasn't in a rush.

I stopped by a thrift store just outside of Boston not expecting to find anything. These 2 side chairs caught my eye, I could tell right away they were made really well and had a vintage feel to them. They were 9.99 each so without even sitting in one, I bought them.
After I had them home I discovered they were Gunlocke chairs, an office furniture company, thats been around since 1902. I had specified Gunlocke when I was exclusively doing commercial interior design. I photographed the labels all still attached to the underside and sent them to Gunlocke so I could find out more information.

The style chair I had was made in the mid 1970's to mid 1980's. They were solid walnut, black vinyl. The list price in 1984 was $400- $500 each (depending on the upholstery). The year of mine was 1977.

I spent sometime cleaning the wood with 0000 grade steel wool and Jo-jo hand cleaner (non-pumice) both from the hardware store. The wood came out beautiful. It removed spills/ stains and brought it to its original luster.
I cleaned the upholstery with a vinyl cleaner. There is one small hole in the upholstery I wouldn't know how to repair. But I very happy with how they look.

They are extremely strong and I'm sure will last many more years.

A bit of  History of Gunlocke Furniture Company, from their site :

1900s

The Beginning

Image: Earliest existing photograph of factory exterior.

1902: William H. Gunlocke and four other wood furniture experts acquire a vacant factory in Wayland, New York. They establish the W. H. Gunlocke Chair Company, which initially specializes in seating for homes, libraries and lounges. 

1920s

First National Contract

Image: A sell sheet featuring some of the latest Gunlocke Products..

1920:  Gunlocke was awarded its first National Contract with Western Electric. Due to this contract, demand for Gunlocke’s office seating was so strong that the company discontinues its household furniture to concentrate on manufacturing for the corporate market.

1940s

Manufacturing Advances

Image: photo of Bank of England chairs in production.

During the war years, most of Gunlocke’s output is for government and military facilities.

Assembly-line manufacturing techniques are implemented to produce high quality seating in unprecedented quantities.

1950s

First Showroom

Image: 1950s chair sales truck.

In the booming postwar period, Gunlocke establishes a factory showroom for the southwest states in Dallas, Texas.   

Boring Beige to Stark Black Shed Makeover

I've never been a fan of my shed and I felt it was an eye-soar. I have a nice view of the trees, its calming, many birds visit. But the beige color just stood out and I wanted a warm comfortable feel in the overall yard.

Since I've been mostly home this spring, it was a good time to tackle this project with some paint and much needed yard work.

I have seen a few residences in the city and businesses painted black and love the contrast with its surroundings. Really any color looks great with it, even the backdrop of the woods, greens and browns, which I have in my yard. I choose Ben Moore Black 2132-10, and had it color matched at my local Lowe's store with a flat exterior primer & paint combo. 1 gallon of paint covers 400 sq ft typically, so I needed 2 gallons.

After doing some research, most exterior paints will apply to vinyl siding just fine. Just needs some prep work of cleaning it well, spray wash with water and a little bleach to remove any possible mold. After a day to dry, I started to paint. I was really happy the way it went on, I just needed 2 coats.

Since there was already electricity wired to the shed, I was able to have an exterior light installed.

I added some color with flowers, hopefully will grow over time. 

Moonshine Yarrow, is a low maintenance blooming perennial. I love the pop of yellow color against the black. I am also good with any plant that is low maintenance!

Paint: $39.00 gallon x2

Light fixture: $82.00

Flowers and mulch: $60.00

Total cost:

$220.00