Beautiful!

I implore you to leave old furniture alone. Buy something that needs painting instead.

I implore you to continue taking old furniture and making it your own by doing whatever you want to it and ignoring people that think that some generic old wooden teacher's desk is a priceless thing of beauty that should be encased in glass in a museum somewhere to be admired for all time.

It's not really to my taste, but I think it's beautifully done and I'm always happy to see a piece rescued, painted, restored or whatever. Certainly better than trashing it and buying a new and lesser quality piece.

@Priscilla: just saying - these desks are a dime a dozen. There's about 10 of them on Craigslist in my city right now for less than $100. This is not a special or significant piece of furniture.

I'm more discouraged that this 'distressed' thing keeps on keeping on. Distressing already distressed furniture is even more...confusing.

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

Good job, but the before is more my style.

Looks great!

I'm with @Jess13 and @Melissapauline. I don't see the point or care for the distressed new finish. (Although I do commend salvaging the desk.)

That golden oak school furniture is pretty yellow, and I'm not a fan of that color finish, but maybe this could have been stained more of a fruitwood or walnut or even ebony and looked nicer. Or, if painted, just paint it. The distressing was not an improvement.

Love it! Great job!

maybe it will find its way back onto Craigslist in a year or so and it will be subject to another before and after, with this time those pictures reversed...

It's a shame to see the wood handles removed. There is a tactile pleasure to those (I remember using those desks) that cannot be replaced with brass and bone knobs. I love the slightly irregular, worn shape of the wood handles, too.

I could see doing that desk with three colors of clear stains on the drawers.

I'm in the stain it camp. I also loved those old pulls.

@Rural and rueful: That is a damn good idea, you could gradient them like an ombre effect. Hmm...you've got me thinking.

Are duck eggs blue? Who knew?!?

I thought it was robins' eggs that were blue.

I also prefer the before, especially the before drawer pulls.

Isn't it cool that there are enough of these middle aged desks (I'm old enough to think the things I went to school with are not yet vintage or antique) that everyone can do what they like with them? Just think if everyone who commented did one the way they wanted and we had a gallery show...imagine the creativity!

Better to have left this one alone and buffed it up a bit. Its plain-spoken strength was lost in the change.

The desk top looks great, I would like to have seen the entire desk redone like that (especially the old wooden drawer pulls).
Why make a real vintage desk look like a fake vintage desk from Pottery Barn? I suppose it might be cheaper than going to Pottery Barn... but I don't like Pottery Barn so there you have it.

Good effort, but it went from vintage to country.

I would love to refinish an old desk like this, but I think it would look even better entirely in a darker stain. I can see how this would fit a certain country chic aesthetic, though, so I am sure the client is happy with it.

Is anyone else bothered by the trend of appending the word "mommy" to everything a woman does/reads/writes after having kids. I mean, the need for a flat surface on which to pay bills, procrastinate while trolling apartment therapy, and write emails is universal to every adult, whether or not some little person keeps calling you mommy. I really do not want to see a post saying "not that Emma is in the 9th grade, Lauren needed a mid century Mommy Credenza in which to store her Mommy martini glasses."

@ENSUENOS , Right on! "Mommy Desk" is pretty offensive lol. I might be even more sensitive to this sort of thing being a "gay dad" myself as I am turned off by any "mommy and me" sort of thing but this really takes it to another level.
"Mommy Credenza" ... haha, awesome!

Wonderful job, Holly! I appreciate your vision and style. The next time I see one of these funky old desks up for sale, I might follow your lead!

That looks great!

I'm actually with Jess13 on this too - but it's not really fair to the refinisher to show the desk in isolation. Refinishing something for yourself isn't like refinishing furniture to sell in a boutique - you're trying to make a piece work in your space. A distressed slightly country white desk may look far better in her home than the original and/or or a more trendy or out-of-the-box piece.

Also, "duck egg blue" is a thing. http://www.polkadotbride.com/2009/09/creative-colour-duck-egg-blue/

Wow, seriously people are offended because it has the word "MOMMY" attached. I am offended that you are offended and I am sure that will offend someone. Not to offend anyone, but people get over being offended already!

I don't know, maybe it's because the desk is in isolation to the rest of the room, but I'm really not feeling those pull knobs, keeping the original wood handles would have worked with the current concept much better. Also, I have to agree with the others with regards to the distressed aspect to the desk - the paint job would have looked sharp on the desk without the distressing, but now it just makes me want to break out the paint and touch things up.

I think the before and after photos got mixed up.

Well, I love it. Nice job. I both like the original AND the makeover.

Wow, such hate - to each their own. I like the finished result and I'm sure there are a thousand other ways it could have been tackled. As long as the person who has to live with it is happy, let it go.

I think it looks great! Those boring old yellow desks just making me think of being stuck in school. Also, I gotta say I love the stain on the top. Really nice color.

Well we are all different, but I think you ruined a beautiful old desk

Ugly.

To take a beautiful vintage desk and turn it into a fake country monstrosity is truly tragic. This would have been a better makeover if it was done with a piece of furniture from Ikea.

I like the before.

"mommy desk"?

I just don't get making something old look older.

I happen to think that the older furniture used in schools are some of the best designed pieces I've come into contact with. There are chairs, desks and bookshelves in some schools that I've attended that were installed in the 1950's, in better condition than the cheap computer desks adjacent that were falling apart in 5 years.

This makes me mad. I liked it before.

What is offensive about Mommy Desk? I don't see why you'd be offended as a 'gay dad' (and how is that much different from a 'dad'?'). The person who owns it is a Mommy, so .... or am I ignorant on the definition of Mommy desk? I'm Australian :P

You took an old mediocre desk and made it new and mediocre. Congratulations. But I agree that it is yours to do what you please and if you like it..who cares what we all think?

"Mommy desk?" Does it get any stupider?

I liked the before handles. I don't like the post-distressing, since fake(-ish) shabby chic is a real turnoff... but I'm sure it's a good job. And, well, if your kids are the type to do damage to your furniture I guess it's for the best. The before was a seriously ugly color, though.

I have the exact same desk my grandfather built it - it will never change b/c it is beautiful. I am cracking up on the whole mommy issue. I work w/ a woman that refers to herself as mommy all the time and it gets really annoying, she even refers to herself as mommy at work. Uhh.. last time I checked, mommy is not pc at work.. ha ha and gay daddy is not kool at owrk either!

Thought there were 2 different desks being refinished...didn't like the "refinished" version. These desks are not a dime a dozen like one poster stated...they were broken up for fire wood when the "lovely" laminated desks took over. Those in good condition...with the carvings and all will be cherished someday.

I think that's MY desk -lol. I have an ancient teacher's desk at work that looks very similar.

I can't fathom why anyone would do this to that desk. The "after" looks like a "before". I pretty much hate this. Sorry.

You did a fantastic job with the finishes and the new knobs coordinate well with the new look. I also really like that you used the wood of the top instead of painting the whole piece. That really gives it character. It does look like something one would buy in Pottery Barn or Anthropologie for a whole lot more than I'm sure you paid for it! I'm sure your client loves it and since it is an old school desk it will probably last ten times longer than a Pottery Barn desk will.

AT please start requesting posters to include a picture of the piece in the finished room so we all have some context for where the poster was going with the redesign. Presenting it as a stand alone piece makes it easy for everyone to pick it apart with personal gripes: "I don't like country looking things", "I don't like fake distressed things", "I don't like the new knobs", "I don't like the paint color", "I don't like that people change old things".
I say if everyone just looks at the after piece and critiques the construction and appearance of quality of the work done to it, then maybe the posters will get some feedback that will actually be helpful for their next project. Instead of useless comments like "People shouldn't paint over old furniture", give feedback like this: "the stain (or paint) is uneven", "the sanding wasn't done well, go with the grain next time", "the reupholstery job should have been tighter", "The new cushion is too small", "the knob choice is too small and placed too far apart", "the new legs don't compliment the style of the piece", "the piece doesn't go with the room because of the paint/style/finish".
My biggest fear is that people with great before and afters (or those who could use some helpful critique) will STOP sharing their projects because they don't want to be insulted by some thoughtless snarky person who's hate is really just based on them having different taste in furniture.

Ha ha ha, when I said I "mommy desk" was pretty offensive I just meant offensive like an ugly hat would be, not like I was all mad about it. Yeash....

I love the new look. The old look was boring and generic. I love wood grain as much as the next person, but the country look is gorgeous.

Aha! So THAT'S why I am such a disorganized mess of a mother! I've never had a "mommy desk"! Oh brother...

the after leaves me meh, like many others, but then perhaps the refinisher was only doing as the client asked, or making sure it matched her decor, or some other thing this little 'how-it-was-done' doesn't tell us. I mean, if the room this desk was going into has all white wicker furniture, a honey brown or dark stained desk *would* look odd. And it it's going to be her space to contain clutter, Mommy wouldn't want unexpected guests' eyes being drawn to it.
in any case it seems the creative juices are flowing!
And at least she didn't do the desk in Primary Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green in honor of the the kindergartener... ereugh.

i sort of hate this. the after took all the warmth out of the desk. i'm not opposed to refinishing old furniture, i just think this looks so pottery barn. would've loved to see some of the desk painted out in a matte black, leaving other parts as is. the original hardware's much more interesting too.

I definitely think it looks better, but I'm really tired of the distressed look. (Not trying to be overly critical or obnoxious--it works for a lot of other people, but I just feel like it's everywhere.) I do like the white/dark wood contrast--just could do without the distressing. I feel like if I never read about another Annie Sloan chalk finish, it won't be soon enough. (Okay, that WAS obnoxious, but couldn't help myself.)

Stop the distressing insanity now! Please.... Please.... Please.... It would have been so much lovelier without it.

I don't know if the make over was so helpful.

ohhhhh. nooooooo. :(
I suspect it will become a new 'Before and After' in the near future.

Like em both. Good job.

EW. sand that cool old desk and stain it and give it a nice finish! the after is HORRIBLE /dies a little inside

Painted or stained, I swear I got flashbacks of watching a teacher grading a test on that pull out writing surface.

I do not like the yellowish finish of the original but it had good bones. Two coatings of a quality paint should have done the job while retaining the eye-pleasing balance and simplicity.

The after version has two major problems:
1. the new handles are just detrimental to the overall balance: please observe that the wooden handles had almost the same width as the desk legs and that their slightly curved sides were the only "soft" lines together with the bottom of the main drawer.
2. the finish is, let's put if mildly, not a success.

Finally, a mommy desk, really? How far can simperingly cutesy go?

hi, I dont judge how you prefer your desk makeover. I just was browsing to see what era or year the desk I have was made. It is ALMOST EXACT AS YOURS except mine is a childs' desk and I dont have a lock on top drawer. all else the same but the size. mine is shorter as I cannot sit in normal chair to use it. it supports my tv now that my children are grown. they all (3) loved using it when the were under 12 yrs old. I was contemplating selling in at my yard sale this month but do not know how to price it. please let me know what year or decade it is from ! thank you in advance. and keep enjoying the furniture makeovers. Miss Diana

I guess I need to develop a thicker skin. But when I read these comments, they make me sad. I went back and read the original article and it appears that this desk was done, for a client, by the person who wrote the post. Perhaps the client requested a painted desk. Maybe she wanted the "Pottery Barn" look. Maybe she likes distressed furniture and maybe the client said, "please paint for me an old desk, sort of Pottery barn-ish that is kind of distressed." In a time when many of my friends have lost their jobs, I admire someone who is creating something and making an income. I noticed that very few people have gone to HER blog to leave critical comments so I guess most of these comments are for the benefit of other AT readers? I guess I just wish people would remember that maybe she was proud of her work and very excited that a Site like Apartment Therapy picked up her story. Some of the comments that are critical are written from a good place, politely and almost to just show her the other options, but I find some of them unnecessarily cruel. If the objective is to have her "see the light" regarding preserving the natural beauty of old wood..maybe those words could be chosen better.

Lesli - one thing you have to keep in mind when reading AT comments, most posters are d*cks. sorry people but you are rude and inconsiderate. I love AT and not every before and after is my style but I don't see the point in tearing down someone else's hard work just because *I* don't like it. Bottom line is if it is executed well and someone put a lot of hard work and thought into a piece I gotta give them props for that no matter how I "feel" about the particular finish. Yes express your opinions you don't have to like it but you also don't have to be so damn cruel about it either. If you would't say it to another persons face ( which I doubt most of you would then don't hide behind your computer and use it to be a bitch.) frankly the original finish was ugly as sin I personally can't stand that color of finish but to each their own, I can appreciate the work that went into the after. and a lot of people DO like the distressed look. if you can't be tactful with your comments dont bother commenting. and Lesli you gotta just ignore the trolls. not everyone on here is like that a lot of us appreciate the work and look forward to this section of the site, there are a ton of fantastic people on here, but there are a few who can't seem to help themselves on being as mean as possible. and that just makes me mad. Your beds were adorable and your comments have been lovely don't let the haters bring you down, for every hater there are 5 perfectly nice normal people who can appreciate the work being done even if it's not our cup of tea, the whole point is to draw a new idea from someone else's redo which I have many a times. Not all wood deserves to be preserved and there are some cases which make my heart cry to see it painted or whatever because it's not how I would do it but at the end of the day not my piece not in my house no personal harm done to me. the owner enjoys it and that's the bottom line. take pride in what you accomplished. since most people haven't the slightest clue as to go about these types of transformations. it takes some talent to pull these things off, i feel some of these commenters are just jealous. who knows. I do wish we could be a little more adult here, but this has been an ongoing problem for a while, it keeps me from commenting too often because I know I'm going to go on a rant (like this) and someone will take it personally and start a war with me. grow up people. if you hate it that much then move on to a different post, this site is suppose to be about all different ideas and tips on execution. general most people have positive suggestions to help future executions go better which is really what this is about, sharing ideas on how to make things work or ideas on how to do it a little differently, many comments have been helpful on a lot of posts, I'd like to see more of those and less flat out asshole comments.
/end rant/

@jaguar1211 Thank you. very much.