Refinishing my desk

Here is my newly refinished desk!

Jeremy sanded it down and built the cabinet on the right, it was originally two drawers that were very stuck. Now it's a nook for my computer to chill in.

The paint is two toned, and the colors in this picture are more true to life.

 

I love my new desk! When I got the first coat of stain on it Jeremy and I looked at the top and Ooohed and Aaahed over it. The paint is a bit lighter than what I originally wanted, but I'm still happy with it.

Here's some backstory, for those who might be interested. When we moved Jeremy put my computer on my old sewing desk. It was very small and very cluttered.

Plus my baby was constantly trying to pull on the cords and push my computer off of its shelf. Not very child-safe. So my hubby said buy a desk, whatever you want, just don't go crazy with the price. So I looked around online, at antique stores, secondhand shops, everywhere. I couldn't find anything that I really wanted that wasn't a thousand dollar desk (apparently I have expensive taste).

I actually bought a desk from an antique store that was a little small and not exactly what I wanted, and told a friend about my desk troubles and she offered to give us an antique desk they had sitting in their backyard with a top on it. The paint was peeling so you could see the three different layers of paint it had once been (dark yellow, red, and black). But it was exactly what I wanted. Big desktop, drawers on either side and a drawer in the middle that was actually a drawer and not a keyboard pullout.

Jeremy got to work getting all the drawers out. We had to put the desk in the sun to get some of the drawers unstuck. He sanded the sides and I tried chipping off the vinyl desktop, but wasn't having much luck. Jeremy's Dad suggested a heat gun and that worked like a dream. The vinyl peeled right up revealing a beautiful wood top. Jeremy really did all the hard work, but it was a lot easier now that we have a belt sander, orbital sander and a hand sander. When it was all ready and the cabinet door had been built we brought it in the house so I could stain everything and paint it. I put a coat of poly on all the stained wood surfaces to protect them, and I just love having something that I was able to customize and make it exactly the way I wanted it.

Fun fact: While working on the desk we found some writing where someone had signed their name and dated it. I can't read the signature, but the numbers read 10/8/42. We think that means this desk was owned or made in 1942, making it at least 72 years old. We also know that it was a government desk, possibly used in a Naval office, and it belonged to my neighbor's grandfather (I think. Father of grandfather). I love having pieces of history as furniture.