From the moment she saw it, Melanie loved the quirky lines of this solid wood desk. The piece had obviously been left outside to endure the seasons; the top had essentially been stripped of any protective finish. What many would see as a fault Melanie considered a benefit — less work to strip the piece down to ready for a makeover!
Melanie wanted a masculine finish for her college student son, and even considered painting the entire desk black. Eventually she decided to give a two tone finish a try instead. She refinished the top in a dark stain and painted the base of the desk white before applying a black glaze to highlight all the intricate detailing. Though the desk was missing a pull on the drawer stack, she was able to shuffle the remaining pulls to make the replacement look original. The final result is a solid desk that should easily transition with her son through the years as he moves from college to adulthood.
See more: Oops! Redone: White Desk with Stained Top
(Images: Melanie/Oops! Redone)
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Love it
This looks great, and is a perfect take-to-college piece. Afterwards, her son can take that into his first post-college digs, or, because there's not too much money invested in it, not feel too badly about leaving it behind.
Though, I suspect his mom would grab it, if that were to happen!
Yes, nicely done! I might have also replaced the hardware with something a bit more angular, but that's just me.
I'm one who is vocal about not painting a nice piece of wood furniture but you done good! It needed to be painted.
Huge imrovement!
Lovely!!
Lovely! I think this would also make a great vanity in a bedroom or bath. Just lovely!
Could we have a moratorium on the word 'quirky' - or at least some 'quirky' free days? This has nothing to do with the post - nice job on the desk. I'm just tired of hearing the word 'quirky' over and over, day after day.
Here are some synonyms for 'quirky' that might work instead:
Unusual
unconventional
bizarre
idiosyncratic
whacky
eccentric
odd
out of the ordinary
funky
unorthodox
weird
screwy
quaint
over-ornamented
peculiar
off beat
outlandish
strange
And if none of those work for you, how about 'ugly-ass,'
Personally, I'm far too lazy to put so much work into a piece like this, but kudos to them that do!
I really like how you played up the details by using the glaze. Nice!
Wow. Very nice desk. I am jealous. Makes me want to go curbside trash picking.
I think it has great lines too, and I love how it turned out. I have an old dresser we use as a buffet in our dining room that has those same pulls, which I planned to replace, but once I panted the dresser I loved how they looked on it.
I think this is a lovely piece, but I'd be shocked to meet a 20-year-old male who appreciates the work that went into making it. If it were me, I'd be tempted to keep this for myself.
This is a 50s western oak piece (think Roy Rodgers) that now has an incongruous paint job that highlights details that aren't meant to be highlighted. Even solid black would have been more respectful. Stripping and whitewashing it is another option. Just restoring the finish would have been enough.
Would never have expected that piece to come out that nicely!
That's a college and beyond piece, IMO. Well done!
Right on Dulcibella! Now help us replace "pops" as in "pops of color", whimsy and whimsical !
I'm so glad I'm not seeing a bunch of "Oh no, don't paint ugly old wood" responses on this.
I think it's lovely.
Great Job! This is a great piece that you can use for years to come!
Finally, a painted piece that looks BETTER after being painted. Well done.
Painted and no gaudy flowers! Love it!