apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Randi, don't you dare come within 10 feet of this desk with a paint brush. Don't. Just don't! I mean it!

Veneer? Laminate? Stick-on tile? Have you had your eyes checked recently?

This is a perfectly lovely piece. Brighten it up with some colorful tchochkes or something...

DO NOT TOUCH THIS DESK! I wholeheartedly agree with hejiranyc. If you want to do something, piant the wall behind it. Please don't paint it. I beg.

Getting a high gloss paint finish is hard (*lots* of layers of paint). I would paint instead of veneer though. AT had a piece here on how to:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/how-to/how-to-paint-wooden-furniture-014163

I spent labor weekend sanding, priming, sanding, priming, sanding and (finally!) painting my dresser a grey-ish white, and i love the result, and the fact i did it myself!!

Try painiting, and if it doesnt work, veneer over it perhaps?
Lovely desk though, looks nice with the art too....

How about papering it? I saw Nick Olsen's (domino mag, I am not sure which month issue I saw it in) ikea coffee table covered in marble paper similar to agate aquamarine and it looked amazing. Classic because it looks like marlble and yet very trendy and hip with unusual colors. I not sure covering the whole desk with this paper will look good but I think at least the table top can benefit from the marble look. After gluing the paper (very carefully), I think you can laquer it to give it some sheen and to protect the paper.

http://www.papermojo.com/marble/agate marbled paper.html

http://www.dominomag.com/daily/blogs/dailydose/2007/01/marble_marvel.html

Painting does seem like a poor choice for the material. How about a runner in a vibrant color (match it up with the art), to run east-west on the part of the desk not under the shelf. Double stick tape at the edges will keep it from slipping off, and keep it rumple-free. And if your Mac is anything like mine, a buffer between that little hot box and the veneer is gonna be a good thing.

If you "absolutely love the retro look" of it WHY would you ruin it by painting/laminating/veneering or stick on anything on??!!! The whole point of owning something retro is that it is genuine to the era. It seems to be a very simple piece. If your dead set on having something that is painted/veneered/laminated sell this one to someone who will truly appreciate it as is and take the money and have a carpenter make a duplicate of the style and paint it to your hearts content. I would buy it in a minute!

If you are hell-bent for leather to get a brighter/lighter color on this desk, I would:

-Get pieces of plexiglass cut in the exact same size as the back panel (probably you will need one above and one below the shelf), then stick on with small squares of doublesided tape (using books, etc. to further keep it from falling over). Glossy white would be fine but I think a bright red or orange would be even more fun.

-Put some kind of blotter or mat on the table surface to further minimize the dark color. Solid-colored leather with a nice grain cut exactly to fit would be ideal, but might be hard to do; a couple of large placements would be better than nothing in a pinch. Don't match the table surface to the back surface.

-Alternately, use some kind of of pretty paper on the tabletop and put glass (cut to fit of course) on top of it.Imagine one green panel and one blue panel behind the shelves and a fun blue and green stripy pattern on the desk surface, for example.

Although these options are pricier than slathering on spraypaint, you will end up causing minimal damage to the piece and will easily be able to resell it (or return to the original look if your tastes change). Veneer, laminate and stick-on tile will all look b-a-a-a-d.

doilies

Please dont hurt the desk.

That dark wood look is VERY today! Give it to someone with West Elm furniture. This is the kind of piece that will probably not take those kinds of treatments you describe without hissing back at you.

I agree with the others. The dark wood veneer really doesn't lend itself to painting or otherwise covering. It looks great as-is. If it really doesn't suit your furnishings, sell it and find a replacement you do like. Nice find, though.

Perhaps some better lighting would be helpful. It looks, on my monitor at least, like it is sitting in a poorly lighted place. I agree, do not physically alter the desk.

I have a feeling that the veneer on this desk is a plasticky laminate faux wood veneer (think of conference tables or school desks) and not a real-wood veneer.

That said, I still wouldn't paint it or anything. I like eeeks ideas above (nice blotter, or plexiglass with a funky fabric print behind it).

i wouldn't touch this desk either... but if you have to:

it seems like the problem you have with the dark wood is that it feels heavy. I think a bright chair (in the glossy white that you want) and maybe a white faux leather writing pad with some sort of detail would lighten it a bit. and some white objects and vases for the top shelf (if you move the frame to the side-- I prefer off center compositions).

OR, get some cork and frame them in some thin coloured frames to fit into the backs of the shelves?

OR maybe stick a cut up blik-type decal in white and place randomly on the wood surface?

definitely nothing permanent...

Randi, did you really mean to say wood veneer? It looks like wood-print plastic or melamine with a curved hard rubber edge to me.

I think it is a school library 'study corral'. Paint it, use it for a year, then kick it to the curb.

I agree. Don't touch the desk! I usually don't like such dark wood either but the design of this desk is beautiful and nothing else would do it justice. Get a nice white chair, which would brighten it up, and break up the desk when you look at it and not make it seem SOOO dark.

Get a desk lamp, a silver or white one too, nothing too dark...

I would also buy some white or light colored ceramics and put on the top shelf with the artwork, it will also lighten things up.

Aha... I disagree with the naturalists here - I say color it to suit your fancy! Yes, it's an attractive retro piece as is but you know, YOU have to live with it as YOU wish. The desk is now a part of your home. Make it so in the color which reflects you in so many personal and heart-warming ways. Isn't that what Apartment Therapy is all about? To bring items into our home which personify and enliven each and every one of us? I'm excited for you! You have a new project on your hands. Please post the 'after' pic sometime!

Maybe a compromise would be to add a bright "backsplash" to the desk?

I was thinking either a mirror, or even an opaque piece of white plexiglass, cut to fit that back piece - something to lighten the "weight" of the brown without monkeying too much with the rest of the surfaces, which I agree is probably going to cause more harm than good.

Good luck!

leave it! prop some small mirrors maybe with glossy white frames against the back and call it a day. or play with some shiny silver desk accents. fresh flowers or a greeny plant will help, too. it looks simply lovely in this dark shade.

I don't see anything so special about this desk that it can't be touched. You can paint it, although that's labor-intensive and time-consuming, and it will inevitably scratch/nick. You could find a place to powder-coat it, which is a much tougher finish, but that's probably not worth the expense. I was thinking along the same lines as Eeek. Plexi will scratch easily though. A better choice might be back-painted glass. You could have a mirror shop cut some pieces to fit (you need to give them a template), and paint the back yourself. Actually, whether you paint, buy plexi, or paper the top, I would advise getting a piece of glass to protect the desktop.

Wouldn't paint it ... I believe the urge to change it comes from its current surroundings ....

you could

- put a rug underneath, for instance retro elegant as here:

http://www.addarug.com/DisplayLargeImage.cfm?ParentID=208&ItemTitleWeb=NEWWANW-101SAG&Category=187, or whimsy and kind of interesting as here

http://www.addarug.com/DisplayLargeImage.cfm?ParentID=208&ItemTitleWeb=M-41&Category=219

- or add color to the walls, for instance Benjamin Moore's "Industrial Age" palette (gray mist, OC-30; yorktowne green, HC-133; lemon grass, CC-638; liquid silver; PT-100)

- and add a simple lamp (Tolomeo, if you go for modern).

hang the picture. add a slender chair. find a line of silver of pastel desk accessories.

Don't touch it!!!

I'm with Anna: OP doesn't know the difference between wood and plastic. We should probably just confiscate the desk, because no matter what they do it'll be stupid.

Wow--thanks for the very passionate feedback!

Let me speak to a few things:

1. I do absolutely love the desk. I'm pretty picky about my space so I wouldn't have bought it if I didn't like how it looks.

2. The problem does partially come from what's around it--I have relatively dark cork floors (which I love) and a lot of walnut mid-century furniture. There's a lot of brown. I'm not even sure that I want to do anything to the desk, but I wanted to ask the AT forum if there was a preferred technique should I decide to make a change.

3. hejiranyc, Imblebee and bklyngal, it's good to know I might have some buyers if I ever want to sell. bklyngal, I have to say I really disagree with you about owning retro. Following your logic, it's crazy that people reupholster old chairs and repaint the trim. Is that really blasphemy? Sometimes the bones of something are amazing but need a little updating to suit the taste of the owner.

Thanks to everyone who piped up with some great out-of-the-box ideas. If I decide to do anything, I'll definitely update AT with a pic!

I'm wondering if I'm from outer space or otherwise in left field on this one... That desk is not attractive. At least not outside the basement of the bingo hall.

That being said, I wouldn't paint it either. I would find the nearest garage sale or craigslist...

Cheers!

this IS a study corral. if you absolutely love it you should be able to find one in a color / finish from a school furniture seller (online, like from Demco) you like BETTER for a low price, fyi.

Wow, some of the commenters in this thread are being really rude. Do what feels good to you! If the piece doesn't make you happy then there's no point in having it around, right? I'd personally agree with the folks who suggested a brightly colored or white blotter or writing pad: that would give it a lot of color without messing with the wood.

I may be a little late chiming in but I say paint it whatever colour you like and do a nice mosaic or glass tile on the top shelf in complimentary colours.

It's a library study carrel. The shelf across the top is for the books you're using in your research. In college or university libraries students often can reserve their own carrel and keep their books in it as long as they need them.

Of course at the time of the carrel's origin, you wouldn't have seen a laptop on it. Too funny, and also a kind of ironic and witty statement!

The piece itself doesn't have great intrinsic monetary value, but since at this point in time, furniture of this period fetches a lot more money than it would otherwise, because it's the trend.

And hey, it's yours to refinish as you like! Some great ideas in the comments here. Also, I think it would take the same amounts of time and effort to re-veneer it in a lighter colored wood. A perfectionist would take all the old veneer off first, but I'll bet you could veneer right over the old veneer if it doesn't bubble up anywhere, or hasn't detached from any edges. There's special veneering glue, and veneers are very thin.

If part of the issue is truly that you already have a lot of brown in the room, why not post photos of the whole room and solicit some other ideas about adding color without painting (and potentially damaging) the desk?

The reason to avoid painting it is not that it's a sacred antique, but that the finish is several forms of artificial materials, and you'll never get any paint or stick-on technique to apply evenly and consistently to all of them. (Listen to Curtis -- when he says not to paint, it ain't paintable, no way, no how.)

Is part of the issue that your real walnut furniture is making the faux wood look very, very fake?

Firstly - what wende in phoenix said about painting/otherwise treating it. (But if it *is* real wood, I definitely would say not to treat it.)

If you need to brighten it up a bit, I would agree with those who suggested putting a runner, some kind of fabric, or a pretty paper over the main desk part, & over the shelf too if you want. I would probably also put glass over the fabric/paper too. (That will also protect the actual surface from heat damage from your laptop, which I've experienced on desks.) Or covering the back in a similar manner would also look good.

No comment on the paint/no paint debate. I'd want to see some serious closeups to assess the quality of the piece. It is possible that the naysayers are right.

However, if you are committed to painting it, get your hands on a can of BIN Primer/Sealer and apply at least two coats under your paint.

In Curtis we trust.

(and oh man that looks like a gorgeous desk!)

Your desk reminds me of the Nelson Swag Leg Desk at DWR:

http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=10958&CMP=NLC-FV1259903665

The Nelson desk is solid walnut with white laminate, and I think the contrast is really fresh and modern. DWR suggests pairing their desk with the Nelson Swag Leg Armchair in white, which makes a great set. You could try copying this look with your desk.