Desk Makeover

It's finally done! After many failed attempts at finding the time to work on this little project, it is done. It took spray painting in the wind to get it finished up but it happened. So here is a reminder of my little thrift store find before it began its' transformation:

When I found this piece I knew exactly why I needed it. We have been needing a desk for a long time. The one we had been using matches Laney's bedroom suite and she has the perfect nook in her bedroom for it, so I wanted to get that desk out of the playroom/office and into her room. But, I didn't want to spend a ton of money on one and I wanted something different, so I had been keeping my eye out for a desk I could renovate.Well, I showed this piece to Ricky and he did not share my vision. Ha! But, he obliged me and I got it (haggling from $45 down to $20 for it (and a mirror that I may find use for another day). I figured we would cut out the center drawers making it into a desk.

My wonderfully helpful brother!

Talk about some effort. It didn't cost much, but it was a bit of work to get this to happen. Ricky helped me on several occasions, teaching me how to use tools that are loud and messy :). Then, one afternoon Ricky was busy doing farm work so my wonderful brother, Jake came over and finished up using the finishing nail gun to get the piece ready to paint. (Special thanks to him for doing this, especially after I watched a nail shoot through the top of his finger, ouch!!)

The main reason I wanted this piece was because of these doors. I really liked the designs on the front and I hope one day that I will take the time to glaze them. I didn't do that yet, but really want to so that it sets off some of the design.

Nothing like spray painting on a windy fall day!

Ok, paint day finally arrived. I will make this short. Everyone who has a blog about furniture refurbishing that I read says how much they love Krylon spray paint. So, I have assumed for a long time that they were right. WRONG! I don't know if the Valspar paint has recently been redone or what, but VALSPAR is by far the best choice, if you want my opinion. I started out with Krylon and after about 4 coats switched to Valspar. It will do in 2 coats what Krylon will do in 6. I am serious! I will now be using Valspar for any project we have.

Enough already...here she is. Complete with new little glass pull knobs and my thrift store red lamps. I know it isn't perfect and has some flaws, but I really am pleased with the end result and even more so, since she ended up costing right around $74.00 total. Not too bad for a desk.

On one side we removed the drawers so that we could hide all the computer boosters, woofers, cords and extensions. On the other we have two deep pocket drawers to hold all of our mess. And conveniently they are filing cabinet sized drawers so maybe one will be used in that capacity.

Wouldn't these doors look good with a bit of dark glazing?....someday!

All done....next up, keeping an eye out for a chair to replace this one that goes with our dining set. Thinking something upholstered might be nice....