apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

For the price of the gold paint, not to mention the effort couldn't you find something a lot nicer on craigslist? I think gold on that desk is a little lipstick on a pig, no? I really don't think it's a great idea and normally I'm all about the diy facelifts and refurbishing vs buying.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/zip/713280784.html

I'm with MGN - I think it would end up looking "80's brassy", not "Gold"

I'd sell it on CL and get something else - maybe a nice vintage piece?

I agree with the comment above, all for not throwing out furniture, but this piece does not have the best lines/structure regardless of color or finish.

If you REALLY want to keep the desk then I would recommend painting white versus gold to help set it back a bit, metal spray paints rarely(closer to never) look good.

Try it on a small area -- if you don't like it, paint back over it . Maybe you could turn the desk around and paint all of the back sides. That way if you have to paint it chrome/silver again (or want to just leave it), you won't see the fussing.

Personally, I'm not fond of gold with the engineered wood in blonde / birch. I think they clash (it's a bit like tone on tone, but not in a good way, to my eye). I'd like the gold better with white or black shelving. Another option might be to use wood grain ("faux bois") contact paper to change the look of the shelves:

http://www.designyourwall.com/store/Wood-Grain-Contact-paper-c-132.html

PS -- yeah, the desk itself ain't so great. But you asked about gold on that desk, not whether we liked the desk. ;-)

If you decide to go with gold (or any other color for that matter), I highly recommend using a product like Rub 'n Buff as opposed to paint. It is a wax base metallic finish that you rub onto metal or painted surfaces. It completely transforms it and dries pretty much instantly. You just rub it on with a finger or cloth... way easier than brushes or spray for your type of project. I've used it to change the color of an old metal bed headboard, picture frames as well as about 30 metal planters for my wedding reception centerpieces. A little tube goes a really long way. I think there are a number of shades of gold (including Antique Gold). I got it at the local craft store.

In case you live in Chicago, here is a tip that I just learned:

They do not sell any spray paint in city limits. Don't look silly like I did and ask at Home Depot where the spray paint is.

Good luck with your project!

An alternate idea would be to put a fabric panel on the back of the desk, which would soften up the look.

in order to get a good gold finish on metal, look into powdercoating it. I don't where to get this done for just a single piece like this. I work for a place that does a lot of powdercoating, but i don't think we take on individual projects like this. Powdercoat is going to give a very durable finish that can actually look more like gold than any spray will.

good luck and ignore the nay-sayers. Gold can work just fine and nobody asked for their opinions anyway.

I'd paint it white rather than gold, but I'm afraid I'd have to agree with others that it's a really painful desk design. Mind you, my desks are little better design-wise, though they do lack the sunken monitor and the side cars for CDs (which are really the worst part of the desk - if you can remove those and leave them off the desk entirely, I'd say that's the first step in making this look better).

I think that this is a highly-functional compact design with a lot of space for components without added real estate, but it's not going to be pretty no matter what you do.