I have been waiting for years for the perfect solid wood desk to land on the floor of the local goodwill.
It happened a few weeks ago.
I walked in, just by chance. Not looking for anything in particular, and there she was.
She had really beautiful detail in the legs and around the top, not to mention the hardware which was dramatic and full of character. Bonus that I would not have to buy new hardware.
I brought her home for $30 looking like this.
I actually really loved the black and thought it would be beautiful in the right room. Yet, I knew that I wanted this desk right in the front room where I could take advantage of the beautiful views out of the full windows.
This room is very bright from all of the natural light and has mainly white trim. I knew the dark black color would not look right here. That's okay, I always imagined the desk as antique white and knew that would look beautiful with the yellow walls.
I started with taking the drawers out and checking for any structural damage or fixes that would need to be made. There wasn't much. I did notice that the drawers stick a bit and thought I might try to do some filing to help them fit a bit better.
Next, I removed the hardware and set it aside.
I wiped the desk down with a damp rag to clean off the dust and also used the wet/dry vac to clean up any dust or dirt. This also gave me a really good chance to check for bed bugs/other unwanteds before I brought it into the house!
You can never be too careful!
I had a small amount of primer/paint combo leftover that I thought might cover it. I knew with the dark color I would need a few coats, even using a primer.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough.
I bought another can, this time using a low VOC paint so that the fumes were negligible and it would be safe to bring inside without off gassing.
I used a foam brush to paint around the sculptured parts and parts that I couldn't reach with the mini roller.
It took almost 4 full coats. I made sure to allow it to dry in between coats and even flipped it on its top to ensure coverage in the spots that were hard to see.
I took all of the hardware outside and sprayed painted it with Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint on a piece of cardboard in the grass. The key to this is to keep your arm moving back and forth while spraying so the paint doesn't clump.
Once the last coat was dry, I placed the hardware back on the drawers and pulled out some sand paper.
The thing about these painted pieces is, if you rough it up a bit and distress it, nobody will ever see your mistakes with the paint. I ran the sandpaper over the edges and around each drawer. It's best to sand the areas that you think would normally show wear and tear over a period of time.
The black paint underneath came out beautifully and gave great character to the piece.
[Just a note: before you do any sanding, especially on a piece that you are unsure when it was built or painted, you should ALWAYS perform a lead test. These are easily and pretty cheaply available from most hardware and warehouse stores. It is usually just necessary to get the lead sample wet and swipe the paint. It will give you quick results. Never sand any paint that contains lead or comes back positive in a lead test. Lead is dangerous and causes brain damage if inhaled. ]
So.....I did another wipe down and vacuuming and dragged this baby into the house. There she is in her new home. I love what she brings to the room and think that this is so much better than any brand new desk I could've found.
Not bad for $30 and some new paint!
It happened a few weeks ago.
I walked in, just by chance. Not looking for anything in particular, and there she was.
She had really beautiful detail in the legs and around the top, not to mention the hardware which was dramatic and full of character. Bonus that I would not have to buy new hardware.
I brought her home for $30 looking like this.
This room is very bright from all of the natural light and has mainly white trim. I knew the dark black color would not look right here. That's okay, I always imagined the desk as antique white and knew that would look beautiful with the yellow walls.
I started with taking the drawers out and checking for any structural damage or fixes that would need to be made. There wasn't much. I did notice that the drawers stick a bit and thought I might try to do some filing to help them fit a bit better.
Next, I removed the hardware and set it aside.
I wiped the desk down with a damp rag to clean off the dust and also used the wet/dry vac to clean up any dust or dirt. This also gave me a really good chance to check for bed bugs/other unwanteds before I brought it into the house!
You can never be too careful!
I had a small amount of primer/paint combo leftover that I thought might cover it. I knew with the dark color I would need a few coats, even using a primer.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough.
I bought another can, this time using a low VOC paint so that the fumes were negligible and it would be safe to bring inside without off gassing.
I used a foam brush to paint around the sculptured parts and parts that I couldn't reach with the mini roller.
It took almost 4 full coats. I made sure to allow it to dry in between coats and even flipped it on its top to ensure coverage in the spots that were hard to see.
I took all of the hardware outside and sprayed painted it with Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint on a piece of cardboard in the grass. The key to this is to keep your arm moving back and forth while spraying so the paint doesn't clump.
Once the last coat was dry, I placed the hardware back on the drawers and pulled out some sand paper.
The thing about these painted pieces is, if you rough it up a bit and distress it, nobody will ever see your mistakes with the paint. I ran the sandpaper over the edges and around each drawer. It's best to sand the areas that you think would normally show wear and tear over a period of time.
The black paint underneath came out beautifully and gave great character to the piece.
[Just a note: before you do any sanding, especially on a piece that you are unsure when it was built or painted, you should ALWAYS perform a lead test. These are easily and pretty cheaply available from most hardware and warehouse stores. It is usually just necessary to get the lead sample wet and swipe the paint. It will give you quick results. Never sand any paint that contains lead or comes back positive in a lead test. Lead is dangerous and causes brain damage if inhaled. ]
So.....I did another wipe down and vacuuming and dragged this baby into the house. There she is in her new home. I love what she brings to the room and think that this is so much better than any brand new desk I could've found.
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