The New Painting Desk

For the last few years I have been trying to find a solution to the problem of where to paint. I have used folding tables, carts and a workbench in the garage. All of these had there advantages and disadvantages, but none really worked out right. The answer is that I need a permanent place to do my painting and to store the painting supplies. It needs to be in the house (the summertime in Phoenix it too hot for painting in the garage) and it needs to look good even when covered with junk.

Step one in solving this problem came when my wife brought home a 1940ish oak teachers desk. This desk had been purchased by my sister a couple of months earlier from a local thrift store. She soon discovered that she had no room for it. This desk was a perfect starting point for the new painting desk. It is sturdy and has lots od storage. It has slide out wings for extra desktop space (not that it really needs it, the thing is 5 feet wide and 3 feet deep).

The final piece was my Christmas present from the Dad. He built an amazing hutch unit to sit on top of the desk. This unit is C shaped and has sturdy shelves. He also built several small shelf boxes that can be repositioned anywhere on the desk or shelves.

I need to add some better lighting but the design of the hutch will make this very easy. My Dad added access holes to the unit to allow power cords easy access to the back of the unit. I will be getting some clip-on style lamps that I can attach to the shelves. This will allow me to reposition the lights easily and save on desk space.

I have desk positioned in the family room at the back of the house. It is in a corner near the arcadia door, so it has very good natural light.

If you look closely you will see the scale model that my dad built of the hutch. It is sitting on top - see it?