“Schooools Out FOR-EV-ER!” – Part II

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December 4, 2012 by Decorum DIYer

Well, as promised, here are a few other school ephemera items that I picked up at a local Catholic school closing sale. This is the second and final installment. Let’s get to it!

*As with the other items, in a rush to share these with you, I took no time to clean or dust the items.

1. Four, Griggs, student chairs. The chairs are dirty and need a new coat of paint, but that is fine with me.  I have a ‘Santa’ plan for these puppies.

The chair is dirty and the legs were poorly repainted, but I can solve that with a little elbow grease and some spray paint.

The maker is Griggs.

2. My son has shown a recent interest in paper airplane making, so I grabbed this for Roman.

3. Ascher doesn’t have his own set of blocks, so we brought these home, too.

4. These compasses are neat-o! We grabbed three, but I think two of them will find their way into Roman’s and Claire’s stockings.

5. I really like this filing cabinet, but have no use for it. I almost passed it by, but then had a stroke of genius.  (At least, I thought I did.  My husband was groaning that I chose the heaviest piece at the sale.) First, I’ll show you the filing cabinet, then I’ll tell you my plans.

Great, wooden filing cabinet. Bad news, the body of the cabinet’s back is a bit beat up. 😦 Worth fixing, but a little time-consuming.

But…, LOOK AT THAT HARDWARE!

Very nice handles, indeed!

It was most definitely an “S.O.B.” to haul down two flights of bi-level stairs.

Very spacious drawers, no?

Okay, so my plan?  Well, to give you a clue, this is what the underside of my son’s bunk bed looks like on a good day:

See all of those toys? Oh, and ignore the sign on the bunk bed. My son thought it important to post a sign that read, “NO STRANGERS ALLOWED.” Good to know.

Also, looking at the above picture makes me cringe.  I am itching to redecorate Roman’s room.  I just need to find the time, and the budget.  I have several items ‘in the wings’ for his next room, but it just isn’t my priority right now.

So, the plan?  Well, I want to use the filing cabinet drawers (at least two in Roman’s room) as under-bed storage.  I think if I add casters to the drawers, it will help Roman contain the clutter in style.  I did a ‘dry fit’ and was in love.  My husband wasn’t too sure about my scheme when I announced my plan at the sale, but after seeing me try it out, he is on board.  So excited!

As for the filing cabinet frame?  I thought that it could make a great window seat with storage, if it was turned on its side horizontally, but I don’t have a use for such a thing.  Then, as I was typing this post, I realized it would make a great bin to house all of woodworking scraps. You know, the odd pieces of 2″ x 4″, trim, baseboards, etc…  Yes, I think that will work out great! And, no need to repair the back! (I just got myself psyched just there.  Sorry you had to witness that.)

Okay, moving on…, and now for some Geography Goddess Goodness! (Yes, I would be said Geography Goddess.)

We found an entire stack of the below fold-out charts, as well as transparencies.  I won’t show you all of them, just a few.  The pictures are poorly lit, but you get the idea.

I think the above charts would look great framed and hung almost anywhere.  I think they would make great gifts for people in one’s life that have an interest in science, or the above-referenced specialities.  Me?  I’d hang them in my house.  Great for a home school situation or playroom.

The below transparencies are informative, but the graphics are so vintage school chic.  Me like-y!  They would be fun hung on a wall in a grid-patterned gallery format.  They would be even cooler if said gallery grid were back-lit?  I know I’ve seen some old, kitchen overhead lights on Craigslist that would make it an easy project, but I don’t think the back-lit option would work in my home.  Cool, but not practical with the little ones.

So, there you have it.  My school-crazed buying spree.  We had fun and we have a ton of treasures (at least to us) to use as decor in our home or as gifts.

Until next time…, happy Craigslisting!