Desk Makeover

Remember this bad boy?

After a few coats of paint, a bit of distress on the edges, and some poly, an adorable desk emerged!

Talk about a face lift!

Please pardon the drop cloth and garage mess.  I don't have a great place to stage photos, and since I'm going to attempt to sell this desk at our yard sale tomorrow, I didn't want to make a big fuss over it.  Here are a few more angles for ya...

Some of you know that I work at a local golf course over my summers.  And when I say "local," I mean literally one block behind our house!  Anyway, I have to get there by 5 am, which means I'm usually pretty tuckered out when I get home at 1:30 pm.  But I found that by painting this desk in stages, I was able to paint a layer each day after work which made the project more enjoyable since I wasn't forcing it all to happen in one day.  It also allowed each coat to dry thoroughly, which eliminated stickiness.

Before painting, I primed the desk using Zinsser's oil-based primer, which is supposed to be the best (at least according to blog authorities Centsational Girl and Young House Love--and the friendly sales associates at Home Depot).  The paint color is Benjamin Moore's White Dove in an eggshell finish.  I topped it with a coat of polyurethane in satin (which is the same finish as eggshell).  Then I spray painted the hardware using Krylon's Celery, which adds a cheery touch of color to the neutral base.  I've never painted furniture using so many layers, so I was a tad skeptical about whether or not each step was truly necessary.  Happily, the desk turned out great.  It will definitely hold up to some serious use without scratching thanks to the adhesive primer and the protective topcoat (I cannot say the same for our dressers that I painted this winter...although I love they way they turned out, they were a get-it-done paint job with little thought regarding longevity or paint adhesion).

I would love for this desk to end up in the room of a young girl or even the entryway of a home.  I'm crossing my fingers that it will catch someone's eye at our yard sale tomorrow!  As a back up, I'm also posting it on Craigslist.  I'll let you know what happens.

Happy Friday!