Pretty Desk Makeover
A few years ago I met Peppy, a talented and fellow home fashion enthusiast, at her store, Peppy’s Dream. It was a welcoming retreat with inventory that included vintage acessories, jewelry and home furnishings. Although she no longer has her store, she continues to shop estate and tag sales and continues to live the creative life.
Peppy purchased this desk for $5 at an estate sale along with a $2 nightstand and mirror. The nightstand and mirror are for her niece, Ashley. She is in the process of redecorating a “cool and grown up” room for her.
Peppy’s husband, Eric, “started working on the desk as soon as we got it home” so Peppy didn’t get a chance to get a “before” picture of the entire desk. However, as you can see from the before photos of the drawers and nightstand, it was in realy bad condition.
In Peppy’s own words, here’s what they did to transform this desk into a beautiful “after” addition to their home.
1. Eric used an electric sander to really sand down the whole desk, all the drawers, and the knobs.
2. He then painted two or three coats of Zinsser stain-blocking primer, because there were so many stains and other problems with the
surface.
3. He finished with a few coats of water-based semi-gloss. He usually likes to use oil-based paint for furniture, because it is more
durable, but because we don’t have kids or pets and the oil-based paint is so much harder to work with, he just used acrylic.
4. He spray-painted the knobs with high-gloss black.
5. Finally, I “rubbed” the decorative edge and details with black acrylic paint, just to highlight the beautiful details. I dip a rag in the
black paint, rub it on and then immediately rub it off. It gives it an “antiquey” look and highlights the best features of the desk.
I gasped when I saw the finished desk. For $2, they now have a beautiful one-of-a-kind personalized piece that incorporates the essence of its new owners. And then there’s the green advantage, one less thing to be thrown into the landfill.
Peppy likened the finished product to a “double-breasted jacket” which immediately made me think of those Thomasville print ads from their “So You” campaign that featured their furniture designs alongside a fashion garment with similar design details. Remember them?
You can check out more of Peppy’s creative designs at peppysdream.com.
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