DH wants me to finish the room up, already, and DD has been pretty patient so far, but I know would like to have some working furniture--so I need to figure out a plan fast and desparately need some input. Original plan was to procure vintage furniture on CL and paint it all white for a collected, yet cohesive, brighter and more open feeling. I am revisiting that decision and am now considering mixing painted and stained furniture. In this scenario, the dresser and bookcase will be white and the desks and nightstands will stay mahogany. As the desks and nightstands are not in the best of shape they will need to be worked on either way--via a combination of Restore-A-Finish and refinishing (desktop).

As a recap, I am working with a very small room (10x10). Here is her furniture placement on all four walls going clockwise around the room:

I'm very happy with how her window wall turned out with her daybed and trundle centered below. The necessity to have clearance for the trundle has pretty much dictated where all the other furniture will go. While not ideal, it requires the placement of her desk next to her dresser. I've seen a few all white desks/chair combos. which somehow don't grab me--plus the fact it will be adjacent to the white dresser seems a lot of white.

Key decision here as either choice will involve significant work (thought painting obviously more) is do I paint the desk, chair and nighstands or restore them? By restore I mean use Restore-A-Finish everywhere, though most likely I will need to strip/refinish the desk top and possible one of the tops of the nighstands. There is a lovely inlay border on the desk top and in some places the varnish is worn completely away so I don't think Restore-A-Finish alone will be enough. Here are a couple of closeups of the desk that show the problem areas as well as the inlay top:

However, if I leave them stained do I loose that shabby chic/light/spacious/cohesive look? Certainly they still match in terms of the stype/period and the Hepplewhite pulls.

Also, for either choice what chair do I use?

Wonky matching chair:

Victorian chair (much sturdier, but I think this wood may be walnut):

I think my DH won't like it if I get yet another chair so best to work with what I have.

DD likes this fabric for the new seat cushion:

Lastly, to complicate this matter further, but before I put it finally to rest, here is her old desk that I was thinking to paint white and use vintage glass pulls:

It does however have a couple of places on the desk top where the wood separated and is a smaller/shallower desk.

These pulls:

As another alternative, would you consider putting the acqua desk here WITHOUT repainting it? At least the pic above, the original desk paint color doesn't appear to fight the wall color and-- in a small dose-- could work as is.

I've got to hand it to you! You are such a finder, you never got over not getting that last desk -
My $.02

- I would paint the desk same as the dresser if it stays on that wall - I would also rec continuing the spirit of the room FUN, FUN, FUN - Perhaps a clip or wall mounted fun lamp - find one you like & spray paint it!

- Once you paint the desk top you will need to protect it from the pressure of your dd writing, coloring, art etc which will have the paint looking sad in no time. When I had the desk area made for our basement reno - I had glass tops cut for each desk top - relatively inexpensive - also provides a nice show case area for special art & momentos

Another thought for desk top (under the glass) and even drawer fronts are Wallies - Yep - keep the spirit of FUN

http://www.wallies.com/

Have dd make a nice message board w/you - Perhaps using the chair fabric & coordinating grosgain ribbon
Homosote works well for that application - basically drop ceiling tile
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/thumbtack-bulletin-board

Looking good Val always a pleasure following your works

justgottabeme: I think it's real inlay as there are parts because I can see it where the finish has rubbed off, but could be mistaken. I don't think I can use RAF were the finish is completely worn off as then it'd soak into the wood and be uneven--tried it before on some other tables and had to end up refinishing them. However, it is something I know how to do.

delta: Hadn't thought about leaving the Vic chair as-is and painting the desk. Hmm. I'd rather use this desk as it's both wider and deeper and has more storage. Even tho it's a tad beat up.

jejvtr: You really help keep me centered when I'm starting to wondering WHAT EVER WAS I THINKING? Still bummed about the other desk as I think it was in better condition than this one; however, this one has the Hepplewhite pulls so just moving forward now with what I have and trying to make the most of it. Also this one is deeper which is a good thing in a small space. I couldn't have custom made it any better to fit this micro space. Your two suggestions of the glass top and message board where in my mental idea file. I've already gotten a quote for glass ($70) before I bought the desk and was just looking online this AM about covering her existing bulletin board in batting, fabric and ribbon. I was thinking of using the same fabric that I was using for the seat. That would help get rid of the all white syndrome I'm trying to avoid. DO you think I should paint the chair also? Another thought I had was to paint it in lime.

Keep the ideas coming as I need to have a plan to present to my DH tonight since he thinks I'm going overboard....

I guess he does not have my mental picture, esp. when my ideas are all over the map, I freely admit.

And, the room does look terrific.

I personally would tell you to paint the desk white to match that gorgeous dresser she has.

Now, in the great tradition of decor forum posters everywhere, I'll give you my $.02 about something you didn't ask about. :) As much as I really like those nighstands, I would try removing them, move the bookcase to the left of the closet, and put the dresser where the bookcase is currently. OR just nix the bookcase and the nightstand on the left of the bed and move the dresser to where the bookcase is now. In either scenario, you uncrowd the desk/dresser wall. Are the end tables functional? It seems like it would be hard to reach them. Have you thought about a small round table to sit kind of in front of the bed instead?

My son's room is exactly the same dimensions and layout as that room, except we have a radiator under the window, so trust me when I say I feel your pain about furniture arrangement!

On the dresser, which I would move to the wall where the bookcase is now, I would paint the body white, and do the drawer fronts on the dresser in four different colors taken from the bedding.

Nightstands white as well, with a piece of polished beveled edge mirror for the top of each one. I would also think about either painting the curtain rod white, or changing out to a white wood rod.

I know that your vision for this room is shabby/vintage, but the bedding and the lamps and the curtains feel more whimsical funky 80's, and are charming. I say have fun with the furniture for now, go for the fresh, cute feeling that you have created with the bedding, and change the mood to vintage/shabby when she is a bit older.

Regarding the suggestions for a different room layout, believe it or not I've tried most all of them. Each one has pros and cons in a room this small. Bottom line, tho, is if I center the daybed under the window that leaves approx. 18" per side. Putting either the desk or dresser where the bookcase is now results in a blocked corner behind the bed since both are greater than 18" deep whereas bookcase is only 10" deep. So while the result I know is cramped on the desk/dresser wall, it really is quite functional--dresser adjacent to closet and desk adjacent to bookcase.

lyban: "Funner" was quite popular among my middle DD's 8-th grade class last year; unfortunately their English teacher informed them it is NOT a word. Didn't stop them from using it tho...

Computerkluz: Would love to see some pics of your desks.

pamlipsest: Thanks for the info on the 30/70 ratio. That makes a lot of sense to me.

ruthy1: What a great idea to mask off the inlay!

mzdee: I love RAF too and have had great success as well when I refinished my DR chairs.

bungalow_house: Aren't small rooms a pain to decorate? My middle DD's is even smaller (9x10) and has a bigger closet. Not too much I can do with that room either--but she's a teenager and really into floor decor (where everything seems to be all the time). So while younger DD's room is a tad crowded with furniture, at least she'll have space for everything plus a big open space in the middle. And yes, she (and I) can access each nightstand. One thing that did not make the cut is her stand up easle/white board--she was trying to figure out how set could squeeze it in between the bookcase and nighstand believe it or not. I told her I buy a white board to mount on the wall to the right of the bookcase and she can use the nighstand drawer for her pens and eraser, etc.

les: A fake fur seat sounds so fun and comfy! I'm sure DD would love it. I'll have to look into some different fabrics. Can you recommend a good website for fabrics? I think DD wants to use the aqua dot fabric somewhere as well, but I can use it for her bulletin board. I was worried the cotton fabric wouldn't be sturdy enough so this sounds like a better option. The different colored drawers sound really fun and pretty also, but I plan to stick with just white and add color with fabrics and wall paint which are easier to change when she grows tired of it.

Keep us posted!