Project Sunday! Transformed desk: from free to cheeky.

Hello, lovelies!

Welcome to week one of Project Sunday. It's been a struggle to keep this project under wraps since I finished it last weekend, but here it is in all its coral glory. This is another free piece of furniture I received when Mr. J and I moved into the house we were in last year. Our landlord is a bit of hoarder (take that as a polite understatement) and he had this wooden and metal desk in his garage. It was in great condition and well-built but wasn't special or interesting by any means. Betsy suited my purposes when I was too nervous to tackle furniture DIY projects. Little did I know how adventure-laden and gratifying such projects are.

I was itching to start the transformation process and therefore don't have a proper "before" picture. The badly lit one below will have to do. Sorry, folks. Take my word for it that the scuffed wood and sad blue-gray metal had to go.

I was inspired by Mandi's coral dresser over at Vintage Revivals, as well as her professed love of Krylon spraypaints. I tried to find a coral spraypaint by other brands since Krylon is notorious for distributing colors regionally, but could not find ANYTHING that compared to the gorgeous hue of Kyrlon's Coral Isle. After searching three stores, I finally found it at Jo-Ann Fabric, but I learned my lesson there: buy it at Jo-Ann's with an awesome coupon, or buy it online. Retail cost at Jo-Ann's was $7.99...for one bottle. Yikes-a-rooney. My wallet shriveled just thinking about that purchase.

I finished this entire project in an afternoon. Get ready for inspiration to strike you like unexpected lightening as you cross a parking lot holding an umbrella. Let's get started!

Step One: sanding. I started with 150 grit sandpaper, then used 180, then 220 to get a smooth finish. Here's how Betsy looked after the sanding process.

Don't mind the garbage cans. The gnomes live there.

Step Two: painting the legs. I used Rust-Oleum Metallic in Antique Brass, the same spraypaint I used for the lamp revamp. It took about 3 coats to completely cover the blue metal legs, base, and drawer (see the drawer below). This spray paint dried quickly, though, so the process didn't take long. Unfortunately, it's difficult to capture the beautiful shimmer of the bronze on camera.

Step Three: taping off the metal. After painting the legs and base, I covered them with Frog Tape to save them from the primer and coral colors I applied to the wood. I also taped the front of the drawer (see below).

Step Four: priming. I used Krylon white primer. The coverage wasn't great and the smell was potent. In fact, I think the lady who was outside next door started praying for the strength not to curse me out for the fumes wafting into her yard (no really, she had her rosary out, people). I wouldn't use this primer again. It took the entire can and 3 coats to cover the desk and the inside of the drawer.

After one and a half coats:

After 3 coats:

Step Five: painting the primed wood. I. love. this. color. Just as I did with the primer, I used the entire can of Coral Isle (3 coats) to cover the wood. The finish is matte and the color is gorgeous. I want to stare at it all day long.

I waited an hour to make sure the desk top was dry to remove the frog tape.

Here's Betsy now:

This project encouraged me to continue revamping furniture. Consider me hooked! I hope today's Project Sunday has shown you how easy it can be to recreate an item in your home with a few dollars, some time, effort, and creativity. Happy DIY-ing!


Rust-Oleum Metallic Antique Brass Spraypaint: $4.84 (Home Depot, 10% off coupon)
Krylon Spraypaint in Coral Isle: $6 (Jo-Ann Fabric, 25 % off coupon)
Krylon Spraypaint White Primer: $6 (Jo-Ann Fabric, 25 % off coupon)
LH 1 1/2" Weave Pattern Knob: $1.19 (Home Depot)

Total Cost: $18.03

Much love,

Danni


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