Restoration Hardware Inspired Desk

Melody
by Melody
1 Material
I'm so excited to share this project with you! This is by far one of my favorite makeovers for a couple reasons; the style of this desk and the Dixie Belle Paint Company products I used to create this Restoration Hardware inspired look.
I worked with Dixie Belle Paint on this project. I received products in return for a review. I never write about products I don't love, so rest assured this paint is amazing!
All the Dixie Belle paints have zero VOC and clean up is quick and easy with a bit of soap and water. It can be used on almost on any surface with little, to no preparation. Although, no matter the paint, I always recommend starting with a clean, dry surface. Also, I recommend scuffing up any shiny surfaces with sandpaper to give the paint extra grip.
I started with a mid-century modern desk that was a bit beat up, but overall in good condition. I had originally planned on painting the desk a dark navy blue with maps on the drawer fronts. My plan changed completely when I realized the desk was solid wood and not the particle board/laminate I had thought.
My first step was to sand the desk top and drawer fronts. The drawer fronts were quick and easy to sand. I started with 100 grit sandpaper and finished with 220 grit. The desk top took a little longer to sand due to a thick protective coating on the surface.
Once all the sanding was complete, I applied my first coat of stain on the drawers and desk top. I started with Dixie Belle's Voodoo Gel Stain in Tobacco Road, which is a nice brown, almost walnut shade. I wanted the wood to have some depth and not just look gray and the darker color gave me a deeper base to work with. The Voodoo Gel Stain goes on easily and I love that it's in a squirt bottle. I'm a messy painter and the squirt bottle helped me keep everything cleaner than usual! I applied the stain, let it sit for a bit, then wiped it off. I did the same thing with the Voodoo Gel Stain in Up in Smoke, which is a beautiful gray. The Up in Smoke with the Tobacco Road gave me the base for the antiqued gray like the RH inspiration desk.
Once all my stained surfaces were dry, I wiped on some watered down Dixie Belle Paint in Buttercream, then quickly wiped it off. I did this a few times until I achieved the look I wanted. I needed the paint to be light and transparent to enhance the stained wood, not give complete coverage.
After everything was dry, I sealed the desk top and drawers with Dixie Belle's Best Dang Wax in black. Isn't that a great name?! The wax goes on nicely and the black wax gave everything such depth. Once the wax was dry, it was easy to buff to a nice sheen.
I painted the body of the desk with Dixie Belle Paint in Buttercream. The color is a nice soft off white. Not too creamy, not too white, just right! It's my new favorite! I lightly sanded paint with 1000 grit sandpaper and that was it!
Now for the finishing touches! The cup drawer pulls I've had for years. They original finish was black and didn't look right with the antiqued gray drawer fronts. There was too much contrast between the gray and black for my liking. This was an easy fix though! I brushed on a bit of the Buttercream paint and wiped off the excess until I had the look I was trying to achieve. The small circular knobs on the center drawer are original to the desk and were also black. I applied a bit of Buttercream to them as well so they matched the cup pulls.
I'm head over heels in love with this desk. I had planned on selling it, but I don't think I can part with it!
For more pictures and details, please stop by the blog and check out the original post here: http://www.mypassionfordecor.com/2016/09/restoration-hardware-inspired-desk.html
Here's the desk before. You can see the small top drawer looks different than the rest of the desk. I used this as a test to determine if the wood was solid and how it would look sanded and stained.
This is the inspiration piece from Restoration Hardware. I love the antiqued gray finish!
The drawer pulls on the small top drawer are original to the piece. I painted all the drawer hardware, even the new cup pulls, with the Buttercream paint, then wiped off the excess to get an aged look.
Suggested materials:
  • Dixie Belle Paint Company Products   (https://squareup.com/store/dixie-belle-paint)
Melody
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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