Upcycle Bulletin & Marker Board

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Here at Mother Daughter Projects we love the challenge of ‘using what we have’ in our projects. We like a good trip to Home Depot, but being able to use what is already on hand without having to go buy something new is quite satisfying!

We used the back panel and glass top for these projects

By taking apart the desk we also learned how it was made

Recently, Steph retired the desk she had from college. It was one of our very first Craigslist purchases. It was in the style of Pottery Barn/West Elm in perfect shape except for the fact that it didn’t travel well due to poorly constructed joints. It was repaired once and then a second time when it was moved back to Tallahassee, but it got to the point of joint failure and couldn’t be repaired anymore. Steph decided to deconstruct the desk into parts for potential use in future projects. ​

Upcycle Bulletin Board from Desk Back

I (Vicki) recently purchased four brand new cork boards from a yard sale and Steph decided she wanted to use three of them, but wanted to frame them out. She went out to the garage and brought in the back piece of the deconstructed desk which was a perfect backdrop for the cork boards.

You can buy cork in sheets at Home Depot!

The edges of the piece were sanded and painted with black craft paint as was the inside edge to cover up some imperfections. Washi tape was added to the edge of board to give it a finished look.

This portion cup lid is holding all the paint we needed for touching up the board.

A fine-tipped paintbrush was used to get into the tiny spaces.

The edges were sanded, cleaned up, and painted.

Washi tape was used to give the edges a more finished look.

The cork boards were attached with double sided sticker foam that came with the boards. A French cleat was used to hang the board on the wall. See our French cleat video tutorial below. It’s is one of the easiest hanging systems to use.

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Upcycle Marker Board from Desk Top

The top of the desk was a solid, thick piece of beveled glass. As most know, glass can be used with dry erase markers and easily erased. Steph decided to lean it up against the wall to be used as a dry erase board. To give it support, we purchased a concrete deck block and foam pipe insulation to use as a stand for the glass. It’s the perfect height and weight. ​

Foam pipe insulation has sticky tape built into it. Just remove the protective covers from the tape and it will stick to the glass.

We have done a few projects lately using materials from this desk and an old bed frame. Check out some of them below!

What have you upcycled in your home? Leave any questions or comments below!

Please note: We are not sponsored by any of the companies/products that we used. These products were picked and bought by us.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don’t claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

FYI: Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP!

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