Vintage Child’s Desk Uplift

5 Materials
$50
3 Days
Easy

I’ve refinished this beautiful little desk that was going to be dumped and brought it back to life to use as my daughter’s desk. The beauty of vintage furniture is that they are almost always solid wood, with a strong frame, well built and we always find a beautiful wood grain underneath a painted job.

As you can see in this picture, some of the paint on the top was already coming out. When I’ve got it (free) was really messed up and the pink paint on the sides was badly applied and was also already coming off, which turned out to be perfect so I didn’t have much trouble to remove it.

The first step was to strip down to the bare wood. I’ve used a water-based paint & varnish stripper EZ Strip (about $25) with low VOC, so I could work inside without worries about fumes.

I could also have used a sander, but as I was working inside I didn't want to create too much dust, that's why I've chosen stripper. After stripping down, I've given a great cleaning with a damp cloth and let it dry for a day.

The next day I’ve sanded down a bit to give a smooth surface and prepare the wood to be painted and stained.

For the front drawers I’ve painted with Rust-Oleum Chalked Linen White (about $12), and the top and sides were stained with Varathane Wood Stain in ‘special walnut’ (about $12). Then I’ve finished and protected all surfaces with clear wax (about $15).

I've given the finishing touch by adding new black metal handles that I’ve bought from Amazon for about $9.

Inside the drawers were ok, but usually, when the inside of the drawer is not very good I cover with wallpaper or drawers liners.

I’ve spent in total about $50 on materials, the desk was free, and I still have leftover materials for another project. I think was money well spent on a piece of good solid wood furniture that will last for years to come.


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  • Mary Russell Mary Russell on Mar 03, 2021

    That is nice! That top looks like real wood but is veneer,correct?The rest of the desk looks like pine(drawers) or other real wood, which would be great as so much stuff today is pressed cardboard.At any rate,you certainly hit a home run,and thank you for leaving some wood grain showing.

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