Vintage Desk Makeover
I found a really cool vintage writing desk in an auction and just knew I had to have it! The finish was in pretty bad shape so I decided to give it a fresh and feminine makeover!
I'm so happy with how it turned out!
I started by cleaning and lightly sanding the entire piece and removing the hardware. I also had to secure some loose molding on the top which I used wood glue for.
I didn't have the exact color I wanted so I mixed my own custom shade using some Dixie Belle Apricot, Daydream Apothecary Sundance, DIY Carnival Red, and Daydream Apothecary Ground Control. I watered it down a bit and sprayed it on using a HVLP sprayer.
When I was sanding the piece I noticed some scuffs and scratches but decided not to fill them until after the first coat of paint. Once I got my first coat on, it was much easier to see which areas actually needed to be filled and which blended in fine with just paint.
I used joint compound to fill the areas that needed it and allowed that to fully dry before sanding smooth.
I thought a pretty teal/navy color would work well with my coral color but I ended up having to custom mix that too lol. Once I had a shade I loved, I used that for the pull out writing board and the insides of the drawers.
Don't be afraid to play with and mix your paints!
For a little pizazz I added some pretty floral transfers. Before adding the transfers I sprayed one coat of polycrylic over my piece.
I didn't want to overdo it with the transfers so I added one to the left side of the pull out board and one to the right side of the desk. After I added the transfers, I lightly distressed the edges of the desk and sprayed 3 more thin coats of Polycrylic over the entire piece.
All done!
Thanks for following along and I hope you enjoyed my project! You can find tons of other projects and makeovers on my Instagram!
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Suggested materials:
- Chalk paint
- Orbital sander (Amazon)
- Wood glue (Amazon)
- Decorative transfers
- Minwax Polycrylic (Amazon)
- HVLP sprayer (Harbor Freight)
Comments
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Dl.5660408 on Sep 15, 2023
I like everything you did to this sweet little desk, from the surprise blue pullout to the knobs to the perfect choice of transfers😻😻😻. Definitely inspiring
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Donna on Sep 22, 2023
I like the blue slide-out. In all, honesty, I liked the natural wood on this piece much better, maybe adding a bit of paint (slide-out), and possibly a couple of other well thought out places. But that wood color… 💋 🪵
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So cute, I believe that is the ruby rose transfers right? I just love what you did so original and beautiful GREAT JOB!!