Eh. Very nice job, but I prefer the before.

I can't see painting this wood piece because it wasn't in rough shape to begin with. Refinishing it in could have been gorgeous, maybe with contrasting stain for a two-tone look on the details...

EmilyTherese-Ditto

I like the painted finish just fine, but the brass hardware looks a little jarring and out of place against the gray paint color. If you're going to go that far, go the extra step of either replacing the hardware or changing its finish to something that better coordinates with the new paint color.

Well, I love the transformation!

The original piece was hideous, particularly the domineering quality of oak wood grain. It obviously is not a vintage piece, but a rather recent one (from the '80s perhaps), but the paint job has made it appear vintage and highlighted the design of the detailing which had been obscured due to the strong grain.

I think it was horrible to start with but I still don't like it. Maybe I would have done some arlequi inspired decor instead!

I think it looks great, and I think the color goes great with the hardware!

www.createyourdecor.blogspot.com

Its kinda blah, it was a good effort but still just blah

I agree w/MSCHATELAINE. This is no way an antique or fine wood piece however I like the inside better than the outside but I do perfer the hues of blue.

I may have painted it a different color but I applaud them for taking a CAB to get this piece. That is sheer determination.

The paint job is nicely done. Love the sheen on it.

Nice job.

Not a huge fan of the gloss.

I think the AFTER photograph itself is part of the problem.

I would have removed the gew-gaw trim and used more than one paint color.

The inside looks cute. The outside, not so much. Maybe it's the color? I don't know. I don't like the original oak finish, but I would've gone with a darker wood stain. It's got good bones, though.

It was not a gorgeous antique to begin with so I appreciate the painting experiment. I would have gone with a very flat dark grey paint and the original dark hardware. I might have switched out the draw knobs for metal too. The wood detail is too cumbersome and my goal would have been to make it all that trim visually disappear. My favorite part was the 'before' inside.

I tend to agree -- good idea, but a zingier paint color and fresh hardware would have really made it pop. But yes, the original piece definitely had potential -- well spotted!

Not a fan of the after really, but was relieved that it wasn't another before & after where something just gets painted white.

i understand that someone obviously liked the idea enough to do it, and actually thought that the brass would work with the high gloss grey.

is it really a story worth publishing on this site?

i'm not a designer, or a design snob but even i can see that the finished product wasn't very well thought out.

posts like these, and the unending posts about the week's popular posts/how to follow AT, daily posts about the AT contests are just fillers that don't do anything but waste space.

i'm not trying to be mean, but honestly it's just too much!

The "after" photograph looks worse than the "before". Hopefully, it's merely the pictures. I admire the determination involved with cabbing it for a bargain priced piece. Not sure what I think about the shiny paint job tbh.

I love the lines of the piece, the detailing, and the little bun feet.
But, not a fan of the high gloss finish, nor of the shiny hardware.

Really cool piece of furniture, but I also don't like the gray very much. I actually think this would've looked great if the trim was painted a contrasting color and the hardware was oil rubbed bronze or silver colored metal. Personally, I would've done a creamy white (more white less yellow) with black or navy trim - I do love the pastel colored interior though! And for $15, what a find!

Oh, also I think a matte paint might've been better than the high gloss.

Very nice. It depends on your style but I might have painted it a navy blue or black with white detail. Or just add some white or black detail on the lines to really make it pop and stand out. : ) Great job though. Looks much better than before. : )

I think it is lovely! The color is neutral and relevant and the sheen makes you take notice. Gray/blue and brass are lovely and nautical together. Brava!

I love AT, and I love Before and Afters. I've gotten some great inspirations. And I make an effort to only focus on the positive in my comments. Liza is happy with her paint job, and that's what counts. But since displaying on AT invites uncensored comments: I see nothing positive to comment on. I love the original piece. Not a priceless antique, but it had dignity and character. I tried to keep an open mind, but I hate the after. A gloss doesn't work on that piece, and putting that hardware with that color doesn't work at all. (I live in hope that the trendy overdone MCM stuff and the relentless shades of grey will go away ASAP. So tired looking, so last year.) But, it's Liza's piece, so may she enjoy it.

An amazing transformation! Before, it looked like it had a bit of heritage, and it could have harmonized in a room full of family antiques, crewel upholstery and leaded windows. Now it can harmonize with black beanbag chairs and plastic lamps.

Even with the paint I was expecting something a little more...clever. All that gorgeous trim gets lost in the monochramatic scheme, a contrastic color would have gone a long way here. Paint color aside that is one spanking gorgeous piece of furniture and a buy of a lifetime at $15!! Excellent find!

Agree with whoever mentioned contrasting stain, this piece was made for it.

Not a fan. To me it still seems as plain and ugly as before, just with newer paint. I think a hardware change would have helped a bit, but keeping it dark.......eh.

Oy.. HOW could anyone love the faux-Burger King's Castle of the Caribbean Before? That style of furniture was (and still is) a dime a dozen so anything done to make it workable works for me.

And as far as "I would have painted it "other color," it really depends on the room, no?

The inside color is a touch of lovely. Change the knobs next, though!

faux-Burger King's Castle of the Caribbean

I believe you are going to have to explain this Patrick.

I'm still trying to figure out what "arlequi" means.

I don't know if it's the picture, but the paint looks... gummy. I understand cutting corners, I'm super guilty of it myself, but I don't know that this piece, or the presentation (the photo might be doing a disservice to the overall reception of this piece) are worthy of a spot on AT.

It appears this piece was made from good quality wood, and so I totally agree it would have looked MUCH better unpainted, and instead refurbished with a new stain, perhaps two-tone (the decorative trim a lighter color, for example.) As is, the only thing I like about this transformation is the pretty color inside the secretary. The outside seems, at least from these pictures, a bit meh.

I'm surprised at myself, but I really like this after. And I found the before so hideous I can't even picture it as a usable piece of furniture. My gut reaction to the before is honestly not even "maybe some paint could help", but "let's just set fire to that", so I applaud Liza for even seeing something in this piece. And I personally see it in her after: the details look fresh to me now, and the whole thing seems lighter. I'm particularly surprised that I like the high gloss, because it usually turns me off, but I think a flat paint would have pushed this too far into shabby chic territory. I'd like to see what it would look like with metal knobs on the drawers, but I also don't mind them painted: they echo the feet.

I didnt love the before, so anything was better, not a huge fan of the color but i like the inside pop.

Well, it's their piece of furniture and they like it. It does make me kind of bilious, though, to think of that beautiful oak hidden under paint. RIP

I love the colors but I think a satin finish for the grey may work a little better.

Not a fan of the oak piece before or after...like the bright inside though. I would have gone on to a very pale greyish white perhaps with a contrasting color on the details to give this heavy secretary a lighter, sleeker touch

The after looks cheap.... :(

Different strokes for different folks.Bee for Brian, you made my day.

I think it would be better if they ripped off those hideous diamond-y moldings., and used a different color. It would look better in a black satin or perhaps a deep navy, with different hardware. No offense, but it was a hideous style when first made. The diamonds really made such a attempt at a bulky style look so cheesy.

I actually really like the high gloss paint; it's like the amazing super glossy paint on doors in Europe. And I find the almost utilitarian grey to be a nice counterpoint to the design, and to dial down the cheese factor.

I like it better than before, but I think it would have been much better if they had been daring and chosen pink, yellow, turquoise, purple, or some that would stand out.

What's done is done with that glossy grey paint. I'd make it more interesting by painting inside those hexagonal "frames" a different color (like black or brown), paint inside the frames with the color from the inside of the desk (as a background), and beg an artistic friend to paint something figurative in each of the frames.

Excellent redo!

I'm sorry, but I find it hideously ugly, both before and after.

The 'after' looks as if it's been craned into a vat of high-gloss paint, then removed and left to dry. It obscures the details in the woodwork, and I agree with a previous commenter that the paint looks gummy.

I like it! I think that the gray is unique and a not often used color.

the wood was the best part of this piece. in a year,someone w/better sense will post the after as the before.

Neato. My mom left me some pieces of furniture that have a lot of detail like that. (Albeit, the detail is made of plastic - let's hear it for the 70s - wood purists can relax.) Gives me inspiration to paint the pieces in a fun color and the inside in white like the desk above. I might go with a matte finish though. The last time I used high gloss enamel on furniture I had to pry the lamp off the top surface a few months later. (Seems weight, enamal and humidity don't mix.)

I like this in theory (especially the inside), but in practice I think it fell short. Maybe it's just that the after pictures are not great quality, but it just looks off somehow, sort of... dingy? I really can't put my finger on what seems wrong.

I do think it would have been cooler to leave the outside as-is, and then totally redo the inside so that it's a big surprise when you open up, but that is just me. Not seeing where the piece goes and how it fits with the rest of the room, maybe it's perfect as-is. Either way, it looks like she did a pretty good job on it.

If the original secretary is what it appears to me to be (hard to be sure in a photograph), it's solid oak, not some "cheap dime-a-dozen" kind of furniture. In Austria. It looks to me like it might have been transitional between Edwardian and Art Deco kinds of styles -- not that I'm an expert, just pointing out that even though it's busy for OUR times, it seems like a well thought out geometric design for an earlier era. I'd have stripped and sanded and maybe stained it a darker wood tone then polyurethaned in a satin finish. I don't usually feel that invested in the wood vs. paint controversy, but this paint makes me sad.

Another Nice wood piece bites the dust. I would have stripped the finish and restained

Well...I LOVE painted furniture...but gray? Seriously? When there are a million colors out there. Looks kind of sad. I'm not trying to be mean or a "hater"...it was sad before and the brass hardware looks out of sorts. Gray seems like a color for modern lines and modern design....sleek, steel furniture, blacks, whites etc. Why not a fun teal or Robin's Egg Blue? Or heck, white? Everything goes with white. Changing the hardware would help.
And, yes, I've repainted/refinished a GOB of furniture. And like gray just fine. hmmm.

What a shame this wasn't given a darker stain rather than what happened here. But this took "serious vision." Okay.

That before picture was seriously fugly. Im all about saving beautiful wood antique furniture but come on. You CANNOT BE SERIOUS! That was a piece of s#!* It looks waaaay better. Not what I expected but still better than before. I would have painted it another color, but anything is better than the before, it didn't even look like real wood. Major improvement, I really love the inside.

The concept is good but the end result looks a bit messy. Gray furniture can be a great addition but the gloss makes me shudder. My mother painted a secretary in glossy white for me as a child - it was terrible to work on and always felt a bit tacky. Matte paint may have been a better choice here.