Pretty in pink: My new tea station!

Several years ago I acquired a small, dilapidated old desk I'd discovered languishing away in a darkroom at the office. It was covered in chipped and peeling gray paint, but I loved the small size and the odd, not-very-deep little drawer and slide-out tray. Turns out, this piece was an old typing desk discarded by one of the high schools many years before. (If you remove the two trays, you can see two holes where a typewriter was once bolted down.) Over the weekend, my sweet husband painted it the precise shade of "Rose Buff" pink I had been envisioning, and now this once-sad piece is serving as a tea station in my crafts room.

Alex, like me, liked the fact you can still look inside the drawer and tell this piece once served in a schoolhouse, so we've happily preserved the fact that "Billy Flournoy loves Marilyn Cox."

I'm sure I'll switch things up a bit before I get it "just right," but here's what I pulled together as soon as the desk was dry. Happily, I have lots of pink things and teawares from which to choose!

I've needed a spot for the paints, glues and decoupage mediums I've had strewn all over, so a pink wicker tray holds them nicely. At front is the teacup-shaped pouch that holds my iPod.

A small teapot, some tins of tea and teabags, and the vase/container I found last weekend all seem happy here.

I was delighted to find a nice spot for the treasured cross-stitch picture made for me by ParTea Lady's husband!


Behind it, a pink feathered hat disguises the fact I have a Thermos full of hot water for making tea when I'm working upstairs.

When we bought the house, this room had been a little girl's bedroom and was decorated in pink and lavender in a Dora the Explorer theme. Fortunately, my many pink craft goodies seem to blend in just fine. This is also a happy spot for a Sandy Lynam Clough teacup print I've had tucked away. Beneath are two vintage rose plates that had been hanging in my bathroom.

This is what is on the back of the plate on the left. I found this at Lakewood Flea Market years ago and was intrigued that it says Jefferson Tea Co. since I happen to work on Jefferson Street!


The hardest part of this whole little project was deciding on the perfect shade of pink paint. I suppose we're all picky when it comes to our favorite color, and I'm pretty particular about my pinks. I didn't want mauvey pink or peachy pink or bubblegum pink. It needed to look "vintage pink" but it couldn't be too dark or too light. I was at Lowe's looking for paint when I learned the Laura Ashley shade I preferred couldn't be blended with the high gloss paint.

Could I find a Valspar shade that was similar? I told the salesclerk I would try. When I found this little folder of paint colors with a teapot on the cover, I decided it was a sign. The "Rose Buff" paint I ended up choosing was the same shade of pink as my "Little Pink Book" (address book), which makes me think this was the color I was supposed to have all along.

And finally, I discovered that a typing desk pull-out tray (with pencil slot) makes an excellent teacup holder!