Waterfall Desk

I finally finished my desk! Yay! :)

I bought this desk with a few other pieces from Craigslist this fall. I have to admit I didn't even want the desk. I'm a little embarrassed to tell you that I saw no potential and am not a huge fan of the waterfall style. This is how it looked when I bought it:

So it sat in the garage while I worked on other things...Until I saw this beautiful piece of inspiration from Twice Lovely:

via


I knew right then exactly what I wanted to do with my desk. So the stripping began.....and went on and on and on and on. Under the white paint was pink paint, then gold paint, then the old stain. There were so many crevices that I couldn't get into. It was such a messy job that I couldn't just run to my office and work on it when I had a spare 15 minutes. 

So it sat for days at a time untouched. Finally my husband, Scott, realized that sanding all of those crevices was holding me back from finishing, so he lovingly spent a few hours getting it completely ready for staining. I'm forever grateful :) 

I stained the desk with Minwax Polyshades (stain & polyurethane in 1) in antique walnut. It was my first time using it and it was okay. I used 3 coats to get the color I wanted and afterwards I still felt it needed a coat of polyurethane for strength and for more of a glossy finish. But it was really easy to apply with a cheap sponge brush and I'd definitely use it again. 

For the drawers I knew I wanted to use some cardstock with pretty script writing on it. I got it from Hobby Lobby while it was 50% off. First I removed all of the old hardware, then filled in all of the holes with wood putty and sanded them super smooth. 

I painted around the edges of the drawers with annie sloan chalk paint in graphite, then I attached the paper to the drawer fronts using Modge Podge. I bought the drawer pulls on Ebay and got enough extras to use in my office for whenever I get around to that project! The two little knobs came from Hobby Lobby and were spray painted to match the pulls.

I am really happy with how it turned out and have been enjoying having it in my living room, but it is for sale :) If you live in the Chicagoland area and are interested in buying it you can find my email address above on my contacts page.

(The inset panels were all painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in graphite and then waxed)

While I love how this desk turned out I'm not looking for any projects that involve stripping in the near future!! ;)

Linked up to:
Craft O Maniac
Knick of Time
Primitive and Proper
The Shady Porch
Junk in their Trunk
Lil Luna
{Primp}
Trendy Treehouse
Rae Gun Ramblings
Our Delightful Home
Domesblissity
aka Design
Embracing Change
These Peas Taste Funny
Bear Rabbit Bear
Two Yellow Birds
Happy Hour Projects
Stuff and Nonsense
Miss Mustard Seed
Funky Junk Interiors
Nutmeg Place
Twigg Studios
Savvy Southern Style
The Rooster and the Hen