While vintage school desks can be found at most thrift stores and flea markets, they might be passed over or disregarded because of their unique shape and original function. But for those who've ever caught themselves wondering, "should I or shouldn't I?" — we've uncovered a handful of interesting uses for these charming finds.
We actually have two of these vintage beauties in our home--and they're perfect for storing excess books that don't fit on the bookshelves. And we were surprised when one desk recently doubled as a spot for Scrabble (sort of as a make-shift coffee table) during a get-together. The pair also works great as extra seating during a party (which is perfect since our living room is bite-sized). If our bedroom were larger, we'd position the desks as bedside tables where a reading light, books and other necessities would land. In the past, we've spotted vintage school desks (the kind where the desk top opens up) showcasing flowers in the garden (love). Or plop one in your homes entryway for gathering incoming mail or storing outbox items in the container below.
Images: 1,6 Beth Zeigler, 2. Look! School Desks As Side Chairs, 3. Roundup: Homeschool Looks, 4. Flickr member Crunchy Footsteps licensed for use under Creative Commons License, 5. Flickr member back_garage licensed for use under Creative Commons License
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Looks like all the same use to me -- it's a chair.
My sister has a very old one that's young adult sized. It sits in the corner of their living room and holds books as well, and acts as extra seating for gatherings.
A perfect seat...
...for the misbehaving child in the family.
Yucky.
Hmm, I don't know about considering the desks in the first and last photos collectible "vintage". They look identical to the standard school seating I had in middle and and high school, circa 1991-1996.
*shrug* Maybe it's just me.
always disliked their right-hand discrimination -- it's just annoying. i don't even recall if they had left-handed ones.
The chair is the big photo isn't vintage. There are about 500 identical chairs currently being used at our high school.
"i don't even recall if they had left-handed ones."
I've never seen one either...
The one in the first picture is identical to the ones I got (brand spanking new) in my classroom in 2006. And, yes, there are left-handed desks. I got 30 right-handed desks and 5 left-handed ones. Vintage looking? Not so much.
are there words? really, now... are there words?
I've had a few of these over the years, two that were adorably small and vintage. I've never been able to find a real use for them, except for when small children in the neighborhood discovered that I have and share a large collection of children's books and love to help them with their homework and bake brownies on demand.
When the last one aged out of the desk, I got rid of it.
Please don't tell me these will start popping up all over craigslist and ebay for $200 each.
LOL! There were brand spanking new ones just like this in the 1960s in my school.
O, and corporal punishment was still legal in school.
Don't miss those days, don't miss those desks.
But for someone young enough never to have been bored in a classroom while sitting in one of these, they're a quirky and cute piece of furniture.
Yes, there are left-handed school desks.
I never in a million years would have thought to use these!! I've had a hard enough time trying to convince the hus to find the kitschy awesomeness of a pew in the home, much less a school chair!! I love the idea, though.
We have a vintage school desk made out of beautiful old New Zealand Kauri wood from my husband's former school in Auckland. When the school recently refurbished its classrooms, they offered these desks to alumni for 20 NZ dollars a pop. They were all snatched up within a short amount of time and we were actually fortunate to still get one, but of course in our case there is a personal attachment to the desk in question. It is a gorgeously well-made piece of furniture with a lot of memories attached to it. The desks featured in the pictures don't look all that special to me because they seem quite new, but generally I think vintage school desks add a quirky, interesting touch.
In the right setting, I think even the newer ones work.
Might come in handy for a game of teacher and badly-behaved student...
I'm breaking out into a sweat.
I attended Catholic school in the 60s. The nuns saw no good reason to have any left-handed desks -- must have been a right-hand-of-god thing --and made me write with my right hand. The family doc was ticked and my mother came in and kicked some Sister-Butt.
And now I'm ambidexterous. I think they tilted my brain.
Plus, I write like a nun. Does anyone remember Palmer Method??
@drcourt777
... but lots of these models (the new ones, not the vintage ones) do cost $200 each, from school suppliers.
I have a vintage-y schooldesk, but I wish I could trade it for one like in the first picture (that is the current design used in schools today, obviously). But I can't find one where the shipping doesn't cost as much as the item itself. :\
It must be a mental thing, but I've found that I read textbooks/journal articles best in those kinds of desks (office chairs with casters offer too much leeway for fidgeting, any more comfortable seating leads to... not reading), so that is why.
Not sure why anyone would want one of these 60s-90s style plastic and steel desks. They are incredibly small and uncomfortable to sit in (at USF the entire English department building is filled with just about every model shown in those pictures above - none of them comfortable.) The writing tables are all too small and the backs are incredible uncomfortable.
Crap made to maximize the number of students in a room at the expense of comfort and actual usability doesn't really have a place in someones house - let alone an actual classroom.
Nothing could convince me to get back into one of these. I spent far too many years plotting to get OUT of a chair/desk like this.
I am incredibly shocked to see these horrific excuses for 'desks' thought of as...vintage. Those navy ones with the beige table? Yeah...totally had those [brand new] in HS 5 years ago. They are terribly uncomfortable. Not to mention hideous.
Picture #4 is the only true 'vintage' desk here. Too bad its not shown in modern use in this entire article.
In storage, I have three of the true vintage desks (well, two desk/chair combos and then lone seat that would have been in the back row).
They don't fit into my decor at all at the moment, but they're special because they come from the one-room schoolhouse my grandmother attended in Nebraska.
They had left-handed ones at my college - I notice because my sister and mother are of that persuasion.
These seem like a good idea, except for the one used as an occasional chair in the bedroom (picture 3). Maybe it's my dirty mind, but it seems very, "Now watch what I'm doing here? Please take note."
I have an old wood and metal desk from my Catholic grade school. I have no idea why my parents bought it, but it now sits in my living room. I keep a plant on the seat, and the underseat storage is perfect for my dog's toys.
Would make a good telephone table, although we are no longer tethered to the wall. Good place to doodle and whatnot while you are on the phone,that is, if you can still fit into one. LOL
This would have been the perfect solution back when I was looking for a table and chair to use for when I am using my laptop. Could have freed up a lot of space in my tiny room.