Desk Makeover: Painting a Desk

When I was redoing my craft room, I obviously needed a work space or desk.  I came really close to spending hundreds of dollars on a great desk at a store, but I help off and kept checking some of my favorite thrift stores until I found the perfect desk for only $30.

The desk definitely need a touch up, and I really wanted to add a pop of color to it.

When looking for a used desk, or any piece of furniture, one of the main things to look for is overall strength of the piece.  Little chips and dings, scribbles or marks, all fixable.  Missing a leg, wobbly, or drawers that don't come out are things that unless you are good at wood work might be hard to fix.

This desk has great bones, it was definitely chipped and dinged but it was perfect.  I love how deep it is, giving it a big work space, it isn't a small computer desk size.

I decided to go for a bit of a retro look and used Annie Sloan Provence Chalk Paint.

It took two coats of paint, but as is great with Annie Sloan paint, after a good wipe down cleaning of the piece you just start painting.

I took all of the hardware out of the desk before painting, and taped the drawer lock with painters tape to protect it.

I spray painted the hardware with Rust-Oleum Hammered spray paint.

Hardware after spray painting

I decided to leave the top of the desk as it was, as I liked the contrast of color between the blue and brown; however it was pretty chipped along the edge so I had to do something.
I used a dark stain and painted the edge only of the desk, which covered up all the dings and made the color a little deeper and richer making the contrast even greater.

I finished up with a coat of Annie Sloan wax to seal the desk.

I love how the finished desk looks, and love all the deep drawers for storage and the big works space.
You can see my final craft room here.