I really hate moving, I moved almost ten times as a child (no, we weren't military) cross-country and back again. I just want to put down roots somewhere and call a place home. Luckily, the houses in our neighborhood are literally selling within a matter of days which is really great for us as a seller, but not so great when it comes to planning where our next home will be. With three kids of my own, a stepson and animals, well, I've been a bit stressed out to say the least. My stress reliever the past few years has been puttering around in the garage painting furniture in an effort to fill the empty spaces of my husband's house as it has many. It got too cold for painting here in the Seattle area for the past two months, but it's finally warmed up and I'm back today with a new post on the project that I had to take a wee little break from while the weather wasn't cooperating.
My little guy is five, and I'm afraid to admit that he is still sleeping in the master bedroom with my husband and I. Our older boys each have their own rooms, and Andrew could have easily shared a bedroom with either of them. But. He's still my baby in my eyes and I've been reluctant to move his little bed from the corner of our room that it currently resides in. Realizing that he's now a young boy and in need of his own space, I've been on the hunt to find him some furniture for his very own big boy room for when we finally move.
I found the saddest looking desk on one of my favorite apps called OfferUp for $20. It looked pretty awful, but the bones appeared to be good and I loved the shape of it. I knew with a little bit of love, it could be a darling piece for his room. It's a smaller sized desk. But even still, Andrew has a little bit of growing left to do to be able to use it once he starts school this Fall.
I started by washing the whole thing down with my favorite cleanser, TSP and found a couple of used cigarettes in the bottom drawer (so gross!). Once I opened the drawers, the whole thing started to reek of cigarette smoke. I got every crook and cranny with TSP and then let it air dry out for a few days in my garage trying to eradicate the smell which was a success. The top was riddled with lots of little dents and chips. I decided to sand it down trying to smooth things out a bit, but I actually like for my furniture to have some "character" to it since most of my pieces are vintage. After I sanded down through not one, not two but three layers of ugly paint to the bare wood, I was still left with one or two deep gouges which I did decide to fill with my newest favorite wood filler, Rockler's. It is a liquid-y texture that dries quickly and sands down like a dream.
Sadly, my local retailer for General Finishes products was out of stock of Walnut Gel Stain. I picked up a small can of Miniwax's Walnut Gel Stain and it's an okay product. I still prefer General Finishes stains, but this is a very similar product that's easier to find at your local hardware store. As this desk is intended for a five year old, I went a little thicker on the stain than I normally would with three separate coats letting each one dry in between applications. And that was as far as I got before the weather turned. I had never used General Finishes paint before and I was eager to play with it. It was a sad day when I had to place the can of Coastal Blue back on my shelf with the rest of my paint stash, haha!
In the interim, Andrew and I pored over knobs on Etsy to replace the ugly silver ones that the desk currently sported. Since I was using a gorgeous French/Navy-ish blue, I thought that a bright brassy gold would accent the piece nicely. He chose a super cool vintage inspired lion knob as the focal point. He does have pretty good taste for such a little man, he must get it from his mommy =)
I also found the perfect small chair to match for a whole $8 at the Goodwill. One of the drawers also had a lock with no key to it which I intended to remove. It took a little elbow grease, but I was able to pop it out of the drilled hole and then filled it with more wood filler.
The weather this past weekend finally got warm enough for me to get outside and finish up the base and legs. I didn't use a primer as General Finishes Milk Paint is supposed to be kind of a one and done type of product. I LOVE this paint. It is my new found favorite and I can't wait to add more colors to my stash. It is so smooth, self leveling, it dries quickly and very easy to apply with brush/foam brush/paint roller. Two coats, and it was silky smooth with a beautiful rich blue. This is an excellent product for both newbies and professionals. To seal it all in, I applied several coats of General Finishes Top Coat in Flat Out Flat which was also a new product to me. I've used their Satin Top Coat for most of my products that I've done over the past two years. I didn't want a glossy finish for this piece, but I love that this still has a bit of a subtle sheen.
And here is the finished product! Isn't it cute? It doesn't look anything like the sad little desk that it once was and it's something that my little guy will have for quite a few years to come. I like to imagine him doing his homework, building Legos and hiding his treasures in the drawers.
I hope that you enjoyed my first project of 2017! I am looking forward to getting back into a more regular posting schedule once we move and things calm down a bit.
In the meantime, I hope that all my dear readers are well.
Until next time.
