The Desk That Took Some Taming

I tried to sand the top first and it was more work than I wanted to undertake. Also, I wasn't sure what kind of paint had been used It could have been a lead-based, please always be careful when stripping furniture, wear a mask and do it in a well-ventilated area.

The paint was not flaking anywhere but it was very uneven, so I decided to go with the flow and create a textured surface using tissue paper. I wrapped the desk up like a parcel, covering every part of it with crumpled tissue paper stuck on with glue

The top got the same treatment.

And the drawers. The knobs were glued in so tight, so I decided to leave them in situ and work around them. Removing them would have made more work.

Once the tissue was dry I painted the desk in a stunning blue, reminiscent of the Tiffany blue. The perfect pairing for this colour was a bright gold.

I added a raised stencil to the top to create an embossed surface using drywall compound and a regular stencil from Royal Design Studio The link to the stencil is here https://royaldesignstudio.refersion.com/l/dfb.105056

You can see the texture here created with the tissue. The bright gold is a perfect pairing for Azure.

The top was sanded after the stencil was applied and after many coats of Minwax polycrylic feels like embossed leather

I added some gold pinstripes to the front details, creating a little bit of whimsy

And here she is in all her beautiful glory. From brown and drab to a stunning beauty, reminiscent of a Tiffany box. For more fun makeovers please visit my website and subscribe.

• Please join my facebook group, lots of fun projects and videos @paintingtipsandtechniqueswithjuliemcdowell

http://bit.ly/2zwk5Ih

• www.dandelionsanddpoppies.com