A Midcentury Desk Makeover

I cannot tell you how long I have been on the look out for the perfect desk for Audrey's bedroom. I was looking for a project piece--something that I could buy cheap and spruce up for her. I spent all last summer visiting multiple thrift stores, antique malls, etc. I was also open to spending a little more on a piece that had already been redone, such as, something you would find in a shabby chic shop. I had come up empty-handed so many times that I was one click away from just ordering her something online.

Then this happened!!!

One day while on Christmas break, I dragged the entire family to some antique shops in a nearby town (Lebanon for those of you who know me locally). We found this at an antique mall called the Peddler's Market. It is one of those places with aisle upon aisle of booths containing pretty much any random thing that you could possibly think of. We went up and down, up and down keeping our eyes peeled for any desk that we could find. I actually can't take credit for this find. Aaron is the one that spotted it first and I knew right away that I loved it. It had the perfect midcentury shape including those amazing tapered legs. Upon seeing it, I was convinced that it would be way out of our price range until a leaned over and saw a $25 pricetag. Cuh-raaaazy!!! I snatched it up before the owner realized that he or she was way underpriced.

The desk was in decent shape but definitely had some wear and tear on the finish. I looked all over for a name of the manufacturer but I couldn't find it. I did find a note on the bottom that said Fairfield Eng. Co. 1967. I am assuming that is the fire department? It was just fun to find out a little bit about the history of the desk. Call me weird, I guess. In addition to the finish issues, Audrey nor I were into the brown. So, it was time to get out the paint and give this bad boy a makeover. What color did we choose...dark blue! I suggested the color on a whim assuming that my girly-girl would almost immediately shoot it down but she didn't. I thought it would be a great color to mix in with the pinks. Think what John and Sherry did for Clara's playroom in their old house.

Since we were dealing with below zero temps here in Ohio, I knew I couldn't spray paint. Plus, I am still scarred by the last time that I spray painted a large piece of furniture. I decided a brush and a foam roller would be the way to go. I had some leftover blue paint from when I did Will's accent wall so I didn't even have to get new paint. The shade is from Sherwin Williams and is called Indigo Batik.

I started by doing a step that I usually skip, which is sanding. Here are a few pictures of that step for you. My goal was to get most of the original stain off but I didn't lose sleep over it.

 

 

 

I didn't prime because the paint had primer built-in and I didn't want to go out into the arctic tundra to pick some up so I thought I would just see what would happen. It worked out better than expected. I started with a super thin coat.

I used a small brush on the drawers and the edges of the desk and I used a foam roller for the top and sides. It took me three coats to get it looking like this. The color is a little different than it looks in Will's room but it could just be the lighting in the basement. Either way, though, I think that shade will look awesome in her room.



I am still debating if I should do a clear coat on top for protection. I just always ruin my finish when I do that so I might see what happens. If it starts chipping, I will touch it up and add the clear coat later.

I am completely smitten with it and Audrey is, too. In her words she "loooooooooves it!" I know it doesn't look the best in my dark, gloomy basement but I couldn't wait to show it to you. And, we wanted to give it several days to dry really well before bringing it up to her room. I am so pumped to see it in her space and style it up pretty for her. That, however, will have to be another day.