Desk Steal

I have been using an old vanity as a desk in our living room for a while now. It was slim and only had two drawers for storage and a cubby where you have to lift the top of the vanity to access it. It was not convenient what-so-ever. I search Craigslist quite often and see old desks all the time that could be easliy updated. It wasn't until Kevin mentioned the fact that we needed a desk for more storage, that I really got to searching! I always get excited when he actually says we need something...it doesn't happen very often. On a Saturday I found two desks almost exactly alike, one for $20 and one for $10. I quickly emailed both ads in hope one was still available. I received an email back that day telling me that the cheaper one was sold.

Bummer. 

The next morning, i receieved an email from the other ad telling me that it was, in fact, still available! I emailed right back asking if I could have it! She told me that if I came and picked it up before 1pm that I cold take it off her hands for 10 smackeroos!! I told Kevin and showed him the picture. He was less than thrilled. You see, he is the one who drives all over Memphis to pick up the pieces I have found on CL. Picking up a desk on a Sunday afternoon was not his idea of fun, especially when I pulled up the address and it was in a less than pleasing part of town. Luckily, when we arrived it was the most cute little quaint house in the heart of Midtown. The houses surrounding were all older, smaller homes and were just adorable! I was so excited to get it home and get to work on it!!

Here is the before

It was a little rough on top, but structurally in great shape!! I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! I had been eyeing this desk that Miss Mustard Seed finished with the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint found here.

Isn't she lovely?? I think so too! I loved the look of the painted desk and stained top. I actually have a dresser done the same way. I was leaning towards a darker blue for the drawers on mine though. I hit up Sherwin Williams for some $5 samples and covered the whole desk without even making a dent in the samples! I used a foam roller for the sides and a foam brush for the smaller spots. I covered with Kilz primer first and then painted. I distressed with my electric sander. 

And here she is!!

Please ignore the Disney lap pad under the table as well as the plastic bag, this is Kevin's way of hiding cords. In this photo, you can also see why I hate the wall color.

The stain is something I had on hand and I'm not sure of the color.  I cleaned(tried) the brass handles, but they didn't seem to want to polish perfectly. I took that as a sign that they wanted to stay antique looking, so I left them that way. I still want to line the drawers with some fabric or coordinating paper, but we will see if I ever get around to that. In the meantime, we are enjoying all the extra storage this baby brings us! When we get around to painting the walls Sea Salt, the drawers may clash and have to be painted a different color.

Do you think I should paint the drawers white or another color??

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