Navy, gold & tapered legs: Chalk painted mid century modern desk
Oh hey.
So, I realized that I am a happy person when I am making things beautiful. I remember my brother making fun of me when I was little because I would serve up my chicken and rice as if it was a 5 star meal. I'm talking rice molded into a perfect circle and sauce drizzled on the plate kind of fancy. It wasn't until recently that I realized my "job" isn't fulfilling my "creative" side. I am an RN, and although I LOVE what I do, I still feel like something is missing. In my spare time I..yeah...spare time. What is "spare time" when you work, are a mom, a wife? Lets be honest, there isn't such a thing. But it is not only important, it is imperative for my sanity, but for the safety of my family that I make time to have "projects." I hunt the facebook yardsales, and KSL classifieds for sweet deals on the daily. Once I find little gems I become fixated on how to make them beautiful again.
My current obsession:
Navy,
gold &
tapered legs.
Naturally when I scrolled across this ginormous desk I saw all of it's reclaimed mid century modern potential. I'm pretty sure this sucker was 150 lbs of awkward weight. When we went to pick it up
my sweet hubby and I had to take the legs off and maneuver it through a tiny hallway and down 2 flights of stairs. Praise the good Lord for my man and his huge muscles.
When we got it home we realized how BIG this thing really was, so we cut off the overhang, and left just enough for a decorative "lip." I was hoping to get away with a "sanding free" project, but since we cut the edged I lightly sanded to get rid of any rough edges left from the saw.
Next I used to generic "simple green" to get years of grime off. This bottle was $ 1.78, compared to the name brand stuff that was a whopping $4.79. Honestly they were exactly the same. Save your money and go with the fake one.
I set up a paint booth in my garage using an old tarp and some string tied to a nail and the garage door opener on the ceiling. Super ghetto, but it kept the paint off the floor haha.
I opted for chalk paint, since its virtually no prep, and this desk had a laminate finish. This was my first attempt at chalk paint, and my first attempt at using a paint sprayer. I will NEVER go back to anything other then chalk paint in a sprayer!! Chalk paint sticks to just about every surface, no sanding required! Living in a "smallish" town I could only find chalk paint in white or grey, so I had to improvise and make my own using latex paint and Plaster of Paris. (see recipe below👇)
Next if onto the sprayer. I am a sucker for marketing, and this sprayer says it was made specifically to work well with chalk paint, and it was only $79, compared to $100 of the "really nice" ones. I'm going to go ahead and say that this was an $80 very well spent.
I mixed my paint in a mason jar, that way I could poor just what I needed for each coat. With a 5 month and 4 year old I never know when I have to put down the tools and pick up the mom hat. The directions in the sprayer say to not save chalk paint once it is diluted, well I did, and it worked just fine 😏.
I did three coats with a light sanding in between. When I say sanding, I just ran a piece of 400 grit sandpaper over the surface and followed with my hand to make sure there weren't any rough spots. This can be skipped, but I tend to like more modern smooth finishes on furniture.
The paint only takes 15-20 minutes to dry, so sanding in between wasn't too much of a hassle. I spray painted my pulls gold while I was waiting for the chalk paint to dry. You can also use a paint brush or roller if you don't want to buy a sprayer. From what I have read you do want to go for the "best" brush option at Home Depot. It will leave less brush strokes.
This was after all 3 coats. If you want more of a antiqued look you can forego a wax finish and antique at this stage.
Last I decided to go for a wax finish, rather then a spray on poly finish. There are a ton of different wax options, Johnson Paste wax was cheap, and had good reviews. So, that's what I went with.
Paste wax is almost impossible to mess up, just wipe a thin layer of wax all over and let dry to a haze, then buff off with a soft towel.
Put your hardware back on and Voila!
Mix:
1/3 cup Plaster of Paris
1/3 cup cool water
Add: 1 cup latex paint
Then dilute with a little less then 1/4 cup water (only dilute if using sprayer)
1. Remove all hardware
2. Clean all surfaces
3. Set up paint booth
4. Mix paint, dilute and fill sprayer
5. Spray even coats over all surfaces, lightly sanding between coats
6. apply thin layer of wax, let dry to a haze then buff with soft cloth
7. Leave in well ventilated area at least over night, the fumes from the wax are pretty strong
8. Attach hardware
9, Enjoy your master piece.
Isn't she a beaut?!!
So, I realized that I am a happy person when I am making things beautiful. I remember my brother making fun of me when I was little because I would serve up my chicken and rice as if it was a 5 star meal. I'm talking rice molded into a perfect circle and sauce drizzled on the plate kind of fancy. It wasn't until recently that I realized my "job" isn't fulfilling my "creative" side. I am an RN, and although I LOVE what I do, I still feel like something is missing. In my spare time I..yeah...spare time. What is "spare time" when you work, are a mom, a wife? Lets be honest, there isn't such a thing. But it is not only important, it is imperative for my sanity, but for the safety of my family that I make time to have "projects." I hunt the facebook yardsales, and KSL classifieds for sweet deals on the daily. Once I find little gems I become fixated on how to make them beautiful again.
My current obsession:
Navy, gold &
tapered legs.
Naturally when I scrolled across this ginormous desk I saw all of it's reclaimed mid century modern potential. I'm pretty sure this sucker was 150 lbs of awkward weight. When we went to pick it up
my sweet hubby and I had to take the legs off and maneuver it through a tiny hallway and down 2 flights of stairs. Praise the good Lord for my man and his huge muscles.
When we got it home we realized how BIG this thing really was, so we cut off the overhang, and left just enough for a decorative "lip." I was hoping to get away with a "sanding free" project, but since we cut the edged I lightly sanded to get rid of any rough edges left from the saw.
Next I used to generic "simple green" to get years of grime off. This bottle was $ 1.78, compared to the name brand stuff that was a whopping $4.79. Honestly they were exactly the same. Save your money and go with the fake one. 
I set up a paint booth in my garage using an old tarp and some string tied to a nail and the garage door opener on the ceiling. Super ghetto, but it kept the paint off the floor haha.
I opted for chalk paint, since its virtually no prep, and this desk had a laminate finish. This was my first attempt at chalk paint, and my first attempt at using a paint sprayer. I will NEVER go back to anything other then chalk paint in a sprayer!! Chalk paint sticks to just about every surface, no sanding required! Living in a "smallish" town I could only find chalk paint in white or grey, so I had to improvise and make my own using latex paint and Plaster of Paris. (see recipe below👇)Next if onto the sprayer. I am a sucker for marketing, and this sprayer says it was made specifically to work well with chalk paint, and it was only $79, compared to $100 of the "really nice" ones. I'm going to go ahead and say that this was an $80 very well spent.
I did three coats with a light sanding in between. When I say sanding, I just ran a piece of 400 grit sandpaper over the surface and followed with my hand to make sure there weren't any rough spots. This can be skipped, but I tend to like more modern smooth finishes on furniture.
The paint only takes 15-20 minutes to dry, so sanding in between wasn't too much of a hassle. I spray painted my pulls gold while I was waiting for the chalk paint to dry. You can also use a paint brush or roller if you don't want to buy a sprayer. From what I have read you do want to go for the "best" brush option at Home Depot. It will leave less brush strokes.
This was after all 3 coats. If you want more of a antiqued look you can forego a wax finish and antique at this stage.
Last I decided to go for a wax finish, rather then a spray on poly finish. There are a ton of different wax options, Johnson Paste wax was cheap, and had good reviews. So, that's what I went with.
Paste wax is almost impossible to mess up, just wipe a thin layer of wax all over and let dry to a haze, then buff off with a soft towel.
Put your hardware back on and Voila!
Mix:
1/3 cup Plaster of Paris
1/3 cup cool water
Add: 1 cup latex paint
Then dilute with a little less then 1/4 cup water (only dilute if using sprayer)
1. Remove all hardware
2. Clean all surfaces
3. Set up paint booth
4. Mix paint, dilute and fill sprayer
5. Spray even coats over all surfaces, lightly sanding between coats
6. apply thin layer of wax, let dry to a haze then buff with soft cloth
7. Leave in well ventilated area at least over night, the fumes from the wax are pretty strong
8. Attach hardware
9, Enjoy your master piece.
Isn't she a beaut?!!
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