When I started on decorating my office, I knew that I wanted it to be bring, happy and cheery.
I wanted a fresh palette of bright whites, crisp grays and pops of color.
I haven’t done a lot yet, but Ryan and I bought a bowed-out, old, antique desk a few weeks ago,
and I finally put the final touches on the refinished look yesterday.
When we bought it, the top was severely bowed from use,
the hardware was chipped and cracked from not withstanding the test of time well,
and there were numerous nicks and scratches.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to turn it into something better,
but I’m pretty darn happy with how it turned out!
We did a very fine once-over with the hand-held sander first, with the finest grit we could use.
We didn’t want to destroy the wood, as it was already fairly fine and old.
After that, I did 3 thin but generous layers of Zinnser Bulls-Eye Primer (similar) over every surface.
For the desk, I’d originally thought about using a stark white color,
but in the end, I decided to go with a softer gray from Valspar, Urban Sunrise.
Ryan actually thought the color would look bland, but he ended up loving it, too.
The hardware was from Hobby Lobby, and I have to say that I was unsure how it would look on the desk,
but I love the clean, modern line it adds to the overall look.
This was a really fun project, and it’s something I’m definitely going to do more of.
If you can get away without sanding, do.
Generally, if the wood is good quality, a primer will save your butt and make it unnecessary to sand.
Either way though, I’m pretty darn happy to take the next step in decorating my office now!
