Rather than paint it white or black (the obvious choices) why not choose a bright color like those we saw earlier today (Bright Yellow, Hot Pink, etc.) Be sure to sand and fill the chips otherwise they'll show through your new finish.

Also - you're missing some curly trim on the left below the drawers - I'd either remove the trim from the right too or get it replicated to replace the missing trim piece on the left...

...but I'd leave the handles the same - There's nothing wrong with them at all, and they're likely attached w/ two screws, which would require filling and redrilling a single hole for a knob: Not worth the effort, and irreversable.

øhh, it's not the curly trim that's missing, but a bit of paint on the drawer. No? Why not leave it white but give it a new coat. Enjoy the contrast with the modern furniture, which will make the desk stand out more in the room and make you think of your grandmother.

I think you should paint it a bold color too! It will be a fun way to inject color and an informality to your space. Also, keep the handles!

I suggest painting it, but if you are very unsure, maybe store it and leave it alone... one day you may like this style and regret changing it.

BUT it needs a face-lift anyway sooooo.....
If you do decide to paint it and use it, possibly get one or two items that are of the same time period to add in throughout the room. Suddenly, the pice will make sense.

There is a huge trend right now in updated versions of Victorian, Deco, Edwardian, Federal and other ornate vintage furnishing styles...everything is a more graphic and simplified version with the traditional lines. You would be surprised how well these pieces fit into a modern decor when done correctly.

The key is inspiration. If you look in Domino Mag or on AT, or other design sources, you will find eclectic homes where mid-century meets victorian etc....

Karmel - Look beneath each of the bottom drawers. That's the "curly trim" she's talking about.

Paint is fine, stain is criminal.
Lose the castors.
Keep the gold moulding.
Make sure the back of the knee-hole gets the same treatment as the rest of the piece.
Don't remove the right hand apron, add one to the left if you can.
And for goodness sake keep the handles.

I agree that you should give it a fresh coat of white and definitely leave the handles as they are. I think if you try to modernize it too much, you'll lose that contrast b/t the styles and it will appear awkward. I love the idea of this piece mixed with your current style, have fun!!

Hmmm. I see this fitting into a modern interior (with a facelift) easier than I see it fitting in with MCM...

If you *do* give it an overhaul, have the existing pulls replated, don't discard or replace them.

This is such a cute desk. I love projects like these just wish I had the space for every piece I find.

Loose the castors as someone mentioned already.

I would get some gold leaf paint and repaint the trim so its brighter, then paint the rest a turquoise glossy paint, leave the hardware. I think gold and turquoise are a nice combo- Then the Ghost Chair would be so cool.

Look at this blog there is a hutch desk with similar hardware that has been painted a more patina turquoise to give you an idea..I would got deeper in color. There is lots of inspiration on this blog.
http://www.houseofturquoise.com/search/label/Office

I think you should paint it a soft dove gray all over, including trim, with round wooden knobs painted to match.

Do you lubricate the "castors" with castor oil?

They're "casters." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caster

I think doing anything obvious to "modernize" it is going to look contrived and a bit off. Making it quirky will work better. Have a leather desk blotter made in the same shape as the top and select a leather or vinyl in a crazy color.

I don't mind the missing trim piece. If you have that replaced, you might as well restore the piece which would involve having it professionally stripped and refinished.

I would take the pulls off and either have them plated or find something with the same screw placement.

I think Black would be a fine color for this desk, maybe use a matte finish or a soft black so it doesn't look like you are trying to black lacquer the piece.

somewhere....someone's great grandmother is spinning in her grave

Your desk is charming. With a minor facelift, it will add an interesting 'counterpoint' to your modern interior. Every modern space needs something old.

Don't try to make it look modern. Do keep it simple; the desk's shape and hardware supply all the detail you need. Think of it as a piece of sculpture in the room. Think about how to make it work in your particular space. That might mean painting it a color to match your decor, or painting it a color to stand out from your decor.

Don't get rid of the old hardware -- you could paint it, though. Or replate it (less than $50). Don't remove the castors.

You don't need to do much to it. Mostly cleanup and paint. The accessories will help tie it all together. A modern desk chair, modern artwork or a mirror over it. Clean desktop with a few carefully chosen accessories. You get the idea.

I would not worry about the missing trim. But if it bothers you, Renovator's Supply sells a kit that allows you to re-cast a piece of trim in resin. Can't remember what they call it, but I'm sure they could help:

http://www.rensup.com/

And if you really can't make granny's desk work, just put it away for awhile (lend it to a cousin). The MCM craze will be gone some day, or you'll have a baby, or something else will come up and it will be just what you're looking for.

agreed. paint it all one color. enamel high gloss.

whatever color... enamel paint. something with shine will set it off and play it up.

I don't understand the point of keeping a piece if you want to completely change its style... the trim and handles are its most unique features-- otherwise it's a pretty basic desk in a style that wouldn't be difficult to find. it's kind of a waste of an antique. if it's not your thing, that's fine. give/sell it to someone who will appreciate it for what it is, then get something you really like. but please don't make it look like some trendy, contemporary knockoff.

refurbish it? yes, definitely, and use it to mix up your decor. but please, please, please(!) no high gloss paint.

my mother passed away 3 yrs. ago and i kept her furniture i picked up on upholstery, and have done quite well with it. i have kept with the antique style but with suttle modern fabrics, and doing my house in a modern style, the furniture does not look bad at all, just keep it simple, i would do a little sanding and painting it and the trim in the same white or off white it has. and just incorprate it with the modern . it will look fantastic. do it justice that way.
antonietta

Clean it well, take casters off, remove the other scroll piece on the right, paint the knee hole, shine it up with some Pledge.

Put a modern rug under it and a mid-century lamp on top and you're set.

Live with it for at least six more months and see if you still want to paint it.

It's AMAZING that you have something from a great-grandma.

I had EXACTLY the same dilemma - my desk was also my great-grandmother, and I also needed it to fit into our modern/MCM home.

See my desk here on my flickr account.

I stripped and sanded it back and painted the whole thing high gloss duck egg blue, replaced the pulls with crystal knobs (but kept the originals just in case), then matched it up with an Eames chair.

It's always a tough call what to do with older furniture - just because they are technically 'antiques' doesn't mean they all have to be restored to exactly how they were in the past, and in my case - and possibly yours - the current state of the piece was pretty poor so it did not warrant a proper restoration.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do, either way its a beautiful desk!! :)

PS. The suggestion of the Ghost Chair by LoriSF above is spot on - restored, unrestored, stained or painted that desk would look awesome with that chair.

when in doubt, chill out...

there's something you can do with that desk without doing anything to it: put it to use

instead of spending money on restoring it (the end result of which you might or might not like), put that money towards getting the latest, sleekest technological gadget that you will need and use - a new mac system? - and slap it on top of that desk...the contrast of old and new will bring out the antique desk nicely

and if the desk had a soul, she'll thank you for it

i'd paint it all a high gloss white, leave the handles and casters, and have a piece of glass cut to the size of the top.

If I were going to put that in my place, I'd do the following:
1) Get the 'curly trim' duplicated for the other side
2) Remove the casters
3) Paint the back of the knee space to match
4) Keep the existing handles and trim, but convert them to deep silver tones of some sort, something to look like antiqued pewter instead of brass\gold (not sure what they could plate the handles with to look like that, but there's got to be something)

and that's about it. I actually kind of like the condition of the existing paint.

If you are worried of keeping the value of this desk, I would suggest having it appraised. An appraiser will probably know whether these desks were painted or stained when it was made originally. Then I would go with their suggestions. But three things you need to do to keep the value are to keep the casters, keep the drawer handles and have that skirt/apron duplicated. If you can't afford an appraisal on the piece, try researching as much on the internet as possible. Most furniture pieces that are considered "antiques" will have a sticker somewhere in or around the drawers that will tell you the company and year it was made and go from there. If you, would be worried about whether you kept the value of the piece, then I would do absolutely ANY suggestion that tickles your fancy from this post, because ultimately it is in your house and you have to be happy with it! On a personal level...I kind of like the idea of painting it an un-traditional color...make it stand out... something unexpected! I also, like some other posters, think it would go great with everything else in the room, no matter time period, then!

Grange did a range of pieces in high gloss black with brightly colored interiors - for example, there is a federal style secretary that when you open the top, the inside is high gloss pink.

You could do that here. I would do high gloss white, not black, to let the details show more. Then use a contrast color on the back inside wall, and maybe inside some of the drawers - that could provide the color pop from time to time.

No offense to your grandma, but that piece was absolutely destroyed the moment it was painted white. That's OAK under all that crappy white paint.

It doesn't matter what you do to update it now. The damage has been done.

* Paint it a fun color - blue, green, yellow, whatever - but black ornate furniture always looks too "goth" for me.
* Remove the casters, ugh.
* Duplicate "curly trim" for the other side.
* Repaint "gold flair" to coordinate with your new color, and replace the gold handles if you must (I kinda like them), but don't throw them away.

There's nothing wrong with updating old furniture, but to echo the other posts, if you remove everything that gives this desk character, then what's the point of keeping it at all?

I myself am a sucker for the eclectic look, so I think this would work great with your decor. Still, maybe if you posted a picture of the rest of your room, it would help the rest of us see how it fits in (or doesn't).

As an antique conservator I'd like to mention that if lisa is right, the damage has indeed been done and it dosnt matter what you do now with finishes in regards to the value however theres no way that she could know what the wood is since its painted. Many antique pieces were always ment to be painted. Regardles, TSP and a good primer (that is right for the type of paint you will use on top) will get you alot farther than liquid sandpaper. When you do pick a paint, I would go with a lacquer paint to give it a very modern finish. And unless you don't like the style itself of the hardware remember, it can be painted too. (Or leafed)

The Woods- I'm assuming the rest of it is the same wood as the unpainted band. You are, of course, right that I don't X-ray vision. :-)

I'm with you - I don't like that hardware at all. Sorry Grandma. If I were you, I'd replace them with pull that are either stainless steel or glass.

The rest of it is quite nice, though. Like many others said... I'd remove the casters, sand it, and paint it high gloss white. I'd paint that gold trim the same color as the rest of it, but you could also use a contrasting color (that is not gold...).

I would just remove the extra curly trim, since it seems like it would be hard to find a matching one, and maybe use that bit of trim somewhere else in the apartment (under a wall mounted shelf, maybe).

Isn't this a vanity?...not a desk. Lovely women would primp themselves before it's mirror. Tops and bottoms would be chosen by the purchaser. Rarely would they be painted, except for pin lines or "posies" at points around the pulls or accent points.

Take a close look at this piece, you may see more.

Thank you for everyone's comments and opinions on my desk. I never mentioned I wanted to restore it, get it appraised, or keep the value of it. I just wanted to get ideas of how to work it in with the rest of our furniture because I want to keep it forever. This desk used to be black and gold (I think originally) and my dad stripped it and painted it white. I will definitely remove the casters, and I think I will keep the handles from a few great comments here. I will remove the curly trim on the other side. I think I've decided to paint it a turquoisy color and leave the gold trim, but spruce it up with a new coat of gold. I love the idea of placing an Eames chair with it if we can find one for cheap. Thanks again for everyone's comments. I will send in a picture of the finished product :)