Craigslist Desk Re-do - Hello Life Online

http://www.hellolifeonline.com, Craigslist, desk, blue, diy, thomasville, furniture

The color is darker and so much richer in person! Wish my camera would capture that! grrr!

This week as I recovered from my son’s birthday party I decided I’d work on the desk that’s been sitting in my garage for about a month now. So fast forward to the weekend again, I finally got my butt in gear and went to town.

This is what the desk looked like before I loved on it a little bit:

BEFORE-Dark and dreary, just like the lighting in this picture

Before I get into the details, I need to tell you what the coolest thing about this entire thing is: it was FREE. Yup. Gratis. I can’t believe it either! The desk was listed on the Free section of Criagslist and wouldn’t you believe that it was located 1.7 miles from my house? Um, YEAH! So I ran down there and the lovely lady who was giving it away and I visited for a little bit before I committed highway robbery and took her Thomasville treasure, for FREE. Yes, ‘Thomasville’ and ‘free’ in the same sentence!

I thought long and hard and decided I wanted to paint it my favorite shade of blue.

The very first thing I needed to do was to remove the hardware and sand the whole thing down. I could’ve used cover stain and skipped the sanding but this had a few layers of pretty old looking varnish so I figured an orbital sander was the best way to go:

I went at it with the sander for a while until it looked like this:

That was the toughest part of this whole process, and truth be told, it wasn’t too bad!

Since I wanted to paint it rather than stain it, I sprayed a grey primer (Krylon) as a base coat.

I definitely suggest doing this outdoors, and if you don’t want grey spots on your lawn, make sure to lay plastic underneath your project!

Once the primer was dry (30 minutes or so), I went ahead and started brushing on the blue paint I’d chosen for this project. It was a lovely dark blue by Behr called Neptune Blue. I’ve used it quite a bit in other parts of the house because I LOVE this color!

I use a sponge brush for most of my furniture projects to avoid the obvious brush marks, and because true to its name, it’s a ‘sponge’ so it absorbs a lot of paint.

And just when you thought I was done with the sanding, I had to go back and sand some more to make sure the finish was completely smooth, and to correct any drip marks. Not that I had any drip marks.

I love these sanding blocks with the handles on them. Easy breezy!

Once I had the top as smooth as I wanted it, which was pretty darn smooth, I added another coat to the whole thing including the drawers.

I trust you are ignoring the mess in my garage, yes?

Once the paint was dry to the touch I figured I’d put a coat of polyurethane, and several on the top of desk since it will get the most use. I LOVE this brand of poly. This little quart can has gotten me through a 6 chair dining room set, a cabinet, this desk, and still have enough for another couple of projects. Plus it dries lightning fast and has no odor. WINNER!

Also applied the poly with a sponge brush

Did I mention we weren’t done with the sanding? Well, I didn’t lie. Once the poly dried I sanded the top of the desk with the orbital sander (200 grit disc) to make sure it was as smooth as a baby’s butt. Yup that’s pretty smooth! Then I went over it with a damp towel to make sure there was no left over dust, cause you guessed it, there is one more coat of poly!

Are my hands really this veiny??

Put the polished hardware back on the drawers and voila! I seriously could not be more pleased with the way this turned out! I LOVES!

I promise I cleaned up the garage after I took the pics

A beauty in blue

To recap: ugly dreary desk in need of some serious love BEFORE

And a vision in lovely blue all dressed up for the prom AFTER

I think this could’ve been finished in one day, but I took my time and spread it out over 2 days, cause that’s how I roll! Now to figure out what to do with it?? What do you think?

Love, Barbara

Linking up here!

Comments

Michaela @ coveredinmodpodge.blogspot.com says

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The color is absolutely beautiful! I can’t believe you got that sucker for free! What luck!

- Chase the Star says
  
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  Thanks Michaela! The price was definitely right! Think I may use it as a sofa table! Who knows!
  
Claire says

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Wow-fabulous transformation-following you from TDC-stop by for a visit!

Chase the Star says

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Thanks Claire!!

A To Zebra Celebrations says

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Amazing!!! come link to my party tomorrow if you’d like 🙂

Chase the Star says

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Thanks! Will do!

gail says

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Oh my! This looks just like a piece I made from a nightstand and parts to be a kid’s desk. 🙂
You did a fabulous makeover on this puppy, and FREE? You can’t beat that!
way to go.
gail

Chase the Star says

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Thanks Gail! It was a lot of fun to makeover! Love your blog!

Chase the Star says

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Thank you Rebecca!

Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims says

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great redo!!! so bright and fun 🙂

Jennifer says

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I did not know there was a free section on Craigslist! This turned out great you thief! Ha! Just kidding!

- Chase the Star says
  
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  It’s true! Technically she gave it to me but it was ROBBERY in my mind because it was in such great shape! Thanks Jennifer!
  
Elizabeth (Blue Clear Sky) says

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A beauty in blue for sure! It is amazing how some paint and effort can rescue a piece.

- Chase the Star says
  
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  Thanks Elizabeth!
  
[email protected] says

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I just saw your entry to the freaktastic party at vintagerevivals. Love the color on this desk! I thought I knew every Behr color (yes I’m a sick paint-puppy) but apparently I missed the Neptune Blue! Beautiful job and great score!

- Chase the Star says
  
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  Thanks Beth! I’ve used that Neptune Blue shade all over the house I love it! Thank you for stopping by!
  
Kelly (Our Everyday Harvest) says

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The finished product looks great! I love the color. Nice work!

- Chase the Star says
  
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  Thank you, thank you!!! XO
  
harleywife57 says

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WOW ! a FREE THOMASVILLE desk ??? I can see why she wanted to get rid of it ! 😀 You changed it from ugly to pretty !!

- Chase the Star says
  
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  Yes can you believe it?! Free Thomasville! It was such a blast to re-do too! Thanks so much!

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