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Sunday, November 3, 2013

Antique Painted Desk Re-Do


Once again, I really do feel like a broken record, I'm apologizing again for being a "bad blogger"! I'm so sorry for the lack of posts lately, my hubby surprised us and came home early from a long stretch overseas.. it was the best surprise ever, oh and he didn't have a heart attack when he saw the pile of treasures in our garage.. yet another miracle.  Then, I did my first vendor show and despite the paint on nearly everything I own it was a big success and I had a blast, but I worked for weeks getting ready and slacked on blogging.  SO stay tuned because I promise some fun tutorials are coming!

But, today I am keeping my end of a promise I made when I shared my new reclaimed wood barn light headboard (tutorial here), that I would also show you the desk next to it that really did go from junk to a jewel!!!  SO here goes! 


This is the rough diamond I scored at a thrift store this summer for $5.  Real wood, dove tailed drawers, lots of character but a few flaws.  One of the legs was broken, but in a drawer, a piece of trim was broken but also in a drawer, there was water damage on the top in the middle and two of the rounded leg bottoms had been squared off I'm guessing to fit into or out of its previous home.  Not afraid of a little work I brought this baby home, and then procrastinated for 5 months before finally tackling it one warm afternoon :)


First, I used wood glue to reattach the trim and let then tackled the water damage.  The top layer of wood was cracked and pulling away from the surface so using a scrapper (or putty knife, anything with a sharp edge) I scraped back any loose pieces.  Since the majority of he surface was still good I decided to leave it and try and fill in the gaps.


To do that I used wood fill, it is your friend in refinishing scratched, dinged and damaged wood furniture.  I like Elmer's but any brand will work, over fill the gaps so you have something to work with, let it dry and then sand until it is even and smooth. Then I used my trusty little jigsaw to square off the other two legs to match the two that had been cut, sanded and rough spots and wood glued the broken leg back in place.


After everything dust free was wiped clean, I love using my shop vac and baby wipes o do the job, then I sprayed the entire piece with flat black paint, used sand paper to distress the edges and finished with Annie Sloan clear and dark wax.  The finishing touch was the addition of the great knobs from Hobby Lobby (bought on a 50% off week) a little bit antique, a little bling, perfect for a girly touch to my side of the room.  Adding new knobs really is the best easy trick for updating a piece of furniture, especially if you get them on sale!


This super inexpensive project has been the perfect addition to our bedroom makeover and it serves two purposes, it's now my bedside table and my creative space to keep my computer and hopefully blog more often :)


The chair is actually one I showed you before (tutorial here) I had painted it blue, but once the desk was done it fit perfectly so I took off the seat and used the left over flat black paint from the desk to update the chair.  I love it when those kind of things just work out!  The idea for the wall piece over the desk came from Pinterest.


I found the huge raw wood frame at a thrift store for $2, painted it black then brushed on a light coat of red like the bed side table I did for the hubby's side (tutorial here) and the letters were purchased at Hobby Lobby also on a 50% off week and then using little nails I hung them right on the wall centered in the frame. The whole piece cost less than $20, not bad for something that covers a huge space!



The bedroom still needs some work, window covering are next on the list, but we really love our rustic western retreat! Hope you do too! Now, go rescue some "rough" treasure today and please let me know how it turns out!!!


Enjoy,











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