So I have been on a real redecorating rampage lately. One thing that I have been obsessed with is watching shows on the DIY network. You know those shows that make you believe you can rip out your floors, refurbish all of your furniture and put in a new kitchen in 30 minutes…. Well, they inspire me to make my living space as beautiful as possible. I started a bit in my bedroom and now I am moving on to the living area.
My first line of business was to declutter some of the space. So I started with an old desk I bought from Target when I graduated from college 7 YEARS AGO. (Time really flies) I was using the desk as a recepticle for everything that I couldn’t find a place for. It really wasn’t a desk anymore insomuch a part of the pile in the corner. After clearing off the pile, I was really tempted to get rid of the desk and just get something new but I have a problem throwing out furniture (anything actually). So I decided that the desk was a perfect choice for my first DIY project. It was something small and it would give me an idea if I would be able to not just start a project but actually FINISH one.
Here’s a look at the desk after I cleared away all of the clutter.
As you can see from above, its just one of those desks you buy when you are getting your first place. Not too bad, but nothing special.
Now, whenever I see folks on the DIY network do something to wood furniture, they always sand it first. So I went out and got some sandpaper and started sanding. I was sanding and sanding it until G told me that it was mostly veneer and plywood (I did buy it from Target) so I didn’t really need to sand it. Thankfully I had only been sanding for about 30 minutes so it wasn’t a huge waste of time.
In my head I had a few ideas of what I wanted to do with the desk. The first thing I knew I had to get rid off where the little spindles. I hated them! They just weren’t my taste so they had to go. I didn’t know how to do that, so I subcontracted that job out to G. Then I thought I could paint it soft grey and then sand it in spots to give it a distressed look. But the desk just didn’t have enough edges or carving (in my opinion) to make it work. So my next idea was to paint it a really bold color and change the knobs. And that’s what I did!
Thankfully G had some primer on hand and some painting supplies.
Painting is really hard for those of us who need instant gratification… you have to wait for it to dry. But I didn’t have the color or the knobs yet anyway. This was the end of day 1.
On day 2, I went out to the store, while G was taking off those horrendous spindles, and picked up the paint and knobs I wanted. I picked up the paint in Evening Blue from Benjamin Moore and the knobs are from Anthropologie. (I picked up some wax paste too because that is what the people on TV always use…)
And here is the finished project! I absolutely love it! The blue is a little brighter than the swatch suggested. I mentioned it to the sales rep while I was in the store, but she assured me that it would dry darker…. it didn’t. Next time I will follow my gut and tell them to remix it. I am thinking of getting a mirror to glue down to the top of it. I think acrylic mirrors are pretty durable. If I do, I will post a pic. But this is the desk for now.
