Secretary Desk is Done

Do you remember the Mid Century Modern desk I purchased in September? If not here's a quick reminder, I found the desk one night while trolling Craigslist looking for a Secretary desk to help De-clutter our living room. I paid $ 80 bucks, they were asking $ 90 bucks. The desk is worth every penny and then some. The previous owner, had the the secretary desk for over 40 years and only parted with the desk when his wife wanted him to De-clutter { oh the irony}. We talked about staining the desk a dark walnut or painting the desk a shade of griege. Here's a reminder of how our desk looked before its makeover.

Before I even completed the makeover, I loved how the desk looked in our living room. Its such a great piece and so well made { solid wood } 

I decided to paint the secretary desk by Cobblestone Martha Stewart. It's the perfect shade of griege. 

The original stain was worn thin and flaky on the top of the desk, so I used my power sander on the entire desk to removed the old varnish. Its the same basic power sander I used on my sons desk, compact but works good. After sanding the entire desk, I applied three coats of Zisner primer with a sponge roller. I allowed each coat to dry 6 hours before reapplying the next coat. 


I really liked using the Martha Stewart paint, but its very very thin, I ended up applying 4 coats of paint! This time I waited 24 hours before applying the next coat, I wanted to allow each layer of paint to fully cure before applying the next coat. I used a sponge roller to apply the paint and then went back over the the paint with a brush. I use Purdy brushes for a nice smooth finish. I decided to keep the original pulls, but wanted to change up the look of the first drawer. Originally the first drawer had six tiny knobs, I replaced those with four knobs I bought at HD Supply for only $1.67 each. The drawer now has four knobs, I used wood filler on two of the holes and the faux notch drawer. I felt six knobs looked too busy on the drawer and desk, I'm glad I went with my gut and changed it up. I spray painted all the pulls oil rubbed bronze. I had a left over can from spray painting Avery's ottoman. I really like how the oil rubbed bronze gives off a nice metallic shiny finish. I bought a little can of Valspar black gloss to paint the feet on the Secretary desk. Here's our secretary desk. It turned out so nice! 

It took awhile to complete the Secretary desk, but it was so worth it. I'm in love with how it looks in our living room, its such a great multi-functional piece. We plan on using the top piece that pulls down to store our office stuff, one side will be Hasani's and the other mine. The first drawer will be for more office stuff: chargers, paper, misc items. The bottom two drawers are nice and deep perfect for movies and board games. 

What do you think our my Mid Century Modern Secretary desk redone? 

Have you painted any Craigslist finds recently? 

Sons Tween Room: Refinished Desk, Before & After

Do you remember the desk beat up desk I found for my sons bedroom redo a couple of weeks ago, the one I paid a mere $15 bucks for? Well after a lot of hard work and maybe a little whining from me his desk is all finally completed. When I first started planning his bedroom makeover I thought a painted desk would look cute (but that was when I bought desk # 1) after buying his wood grain drum shade light fixture, I really wanted to stain his desk a deep walnut like our dining room table. However the top his is desk is laminate, so I went in another direction and was inspired by Young House Love's  dresser to refinish Tabari's desk into a mix of modern and vintage. I have to say it was a lot of work, but so worth it. Before I show you the after, I have to remind you of the before, in all its glory (note the sarcasm) 

This desk was a hot mess: missing hardware and lots and lots of writing on the top of the desk and a funky box on the bottom of the desk. Even though it was a hot mess, I loved the vintage lines of the desk which gave it more charm. The desk was also a solid piece of furniture, all wood (except the very top) and super heavy.

After we refinished our dining room table, I received a lot of emails about the steps refinishing and sanding etc. Since I slacked and didn't do a how to post then, I created one for the desk.

How to Refinish a Desk

Like any painting project or staining project, clean the wood with a soapy water and a clean rag, and let dry. 

Sanding 

I sanded the entire desk with out Black and Decker Mouse power sander, I used 60 grit sandpaper. I made sure to sand in the direction of the wood grain, when you sand in the direction of the wood grain you get a nice smooth finish. I used a combination of the power sander and hand sander. Next I sanded the entire desk and drawers with a 220 fine grit sanding block, which leaves a nice smooth finish. 

Staining

I love the staining part of  this project the best, this is when you see all your handwork payoff. We used Minwax Wood Finish Dark Walnut 2716, fortunately we had left over stain from our dining room table project. I applied the stain with a brush going the same direction of the stain. I took my time applying the stain to the desk and made sure I made to drips on the desk finish. The directions recommended waiting waiting 5-15 minutes before wiping away excess stain. However I let the stain sit on the desk for 25 minutes so stain would really soak in. Then I wiped away the excess stain using lint free cloth, again wiping in the same direction as the wood grain. 

I wanted the desk to be a nice rich dark oak, so I applied another coat of stain following the same directions as the first coat. After wiping down the second coat with a clean lint free rag, the desk was a nice rich dark walnut color I was looking for, so I only did two coats of stain. 

Clear Coat 

I let the desk dry 24 hrs and before starting the clear coat application. For the clear coat I sued Minwax Fast Drying Polyurethane Semi Gloss. Before applying the cleat coat gently stir the the polyurethane - do not shake. Wipe away all dust and then very lightly sand the desk in the direction of the wood grain using a 220 grit sanding block. Then apply a very THIN coat of polyurethane, I applied it using a sponge brush. The dry time on the label says 6-7 hours and then you can apply another coat, I didn't want the desk too glossy so I only applied one coat. I let the clear coat dry for 8 + hours and then again very light sanded the desk with a 220 grit sanding block. This stuff is smelly just like the stain, so I left the desk outside for 48hrs before bringing the  desk inside my sons room. 

Hardware

Finding hardware that fit the original wholes in the desk was a challenge!  Most standard new pulls have whole spacing thats 3 inches apart, his desk and whole spacing that was 2.5 inches apart. I thought about drilling new wholes and filling the excitsing whole with wood filler like I did with my dresser (here) but I was afraid it might not stain properly. I used cup pulls for the dresser, which kept the vibe of the vintage desk. 

For the top of Tabari's laminate desk I read YHL's instructions on using an oil based primer verses a water based primer (here) After I sanded the top of the desk, I primed the top of the dresser with 2 coats of Zisser Oil Base Primer using a sponge brush. I used two coats of primer because I wanted to make sure the writing has completely covered. I waited 30 minutes between coats of primer. Next I used a sponge roller and applied 2 coats of Valspar Gloss White Paint. Then waited and additional 24 hours to apply one thin coat of Clear Water Base Poly.

Here's Tabari's refinished desk in his bedroom. I love the contrast of the dark walnut stain and the glossy white desktop. I'm really glad the desk turned out nice! 

For some reason it was really hardware me to take a good front picture of his desk (note to self, read the camera manual!) His desk is 99% done, I still have to cut a board to fix the gap in the desk, were a pull out board once was. 

I like how the modern West Elm chair looks with his traditional desk.

Tabari's loves his new desk and thinks it looks cool. What do you think of his desk? Am I on the right track in creating a tween space that is a combination of modern and traditional?

ps: Here's a recap of completed projects & ideas for our sons tween room: Painted Room (here) Used Tools as Decor (here) Room Lighting (here) Found a Desk (here) Desk Chair (here) DIY Floating Shelves (here)

Sons Tween Room: 3rd Times the Charm

You know the old saying third times the charm, I think this applies to finding the perfect desk for my sons room. Yep over the past year I've bought him three desks. I'm not to embarrassed to admit, two didn't work out as planned. The story of buying the perfect desk for my son actually began over a year ago. A few months after we bought our house I began stalking looking on Craigslist for a little desk. I found a simple small desk for $ 10 bucks on Craigslist that needed some love. I planned to paint the desk red and update the hardware. Well the desk sat in the garage and has been there every since. I planned on taking a pic of the desk, but there's hardly any light in my garage. 


Fast forward three weeks ago, I found a perfectly good desk on Craigslist { again } that needed updating, a big plus was the desk came with nice simple wood chair. But after bringing it home and paying $ 30.00 I realized its not the one. I know your probably thinking I'm a little crazy, but it means so much to me to be able to work on a space for our son that reflects his personalty. I thought about re-listing  the item on Craigslist or selling it in our yard sale, but thought my sister would want it for my nephews bedroom. My nephew and sister loved the desk, as is. I'm am doing one little update on the desk, spraying the handles ( that are faded gold ) a black matte color. Once its made its way over to my sister's house, I snap a picture of it on my nephew rooms with its mini makeover. 

I found the 'third times the charm desk' while doing a little thrifting over the weekend. I found a neglected desk sitting in the corner all by itself, it was only $ 15.00. I looked it over and over, checked out the drawers and liked the style of the desk. It's a little larger than his second desk. I plan to update the hardware { yup, one pull is missing & one is hanging by only one screw } and remove that funky box the previous owner attached the the bottom of the desk. As well as fix the 'empty' space where the drawers are. 

The top of the desk is pretty beat up, nothing some Kilz Stain Block Oil Primer can't fix. I'm looking forward to getting this project done. I got some recent inspiration from Tabari's new light fixture in his room, I want the desk to be a mix of modern and classic { same as his room}. If all goes well, meaning I don't have to deal with 100 + degree weather, I'll have an after to share with you all next week and my son will have a new desk! 

Out of the two desks, which do you prefer? Has this happened to you: bought a piece of furniture and then kept right on looking just in case something better { in your eyes } came along?


ps: Here's a recap of completed projects for our sons room: Painted the Room (here) Tools Used In Decor (here) Room Lighting (here)