Progress...??

Well, the future yellow desk is coming along... slowly but surely and the rest of my living room is adding some character little by little.

As you can see, the color palate is changing and evolving. I'm thinking, not so much green and more blue! (I need a good camera, my phone is just not doing the trick.)

I got the huge 48x77in. map at Amazon.com for $35+shipping and the cute little coffee table on Craigslist for $15!!! (What a steal!) I think the room has already gained character from what it was not too long ago, BORING.

I've GOT to get that lamp out of here!!!

So, with my work schedule, and lack of knowledge for how long it would actually take to sand, prime, paint, fill the original drawer pull holes, paint a second coat, then seal the desk and table. WHEW!

But, with the help of my lovely father, the desk has its first coat of yellow, and the red table I showed before has its first coat of red. I go back home to the parents house Wednesday to finish the project and bring my new lovelies home!

For the desk, I chose these pretties from Myknobs.com. They were $2.99 each as opposed to HomeDepot's $3.39 each. So after shipping, the 13 knobs/pulls cost $44.88.

I really like how the vintage desk will be mixed with the modern yellow and these lovely pendant pulls. My mom tells me these are older style, to me they look more contemporary, so I don't really know how to categorize them, but I think they're going to look beautiful with the desk! I've chosen to lay them out like the picture below. I drew a few different drafts and landed on this layout. I was torn between 1 or 2 pulls on the center drawer, so I drew it with 2 but made a piece to tape over it with 1 pull, this way I could see both and not have to keep drawing more. After showing my friends and family, I decided on one center drawer pull.

What's even cooler about this desk?? Shoved in the back of the drawers were all sorts of receipts and birthday cards and keepsakes. But I found two even more interesting things.
1. S&H stamps, as my post-woman mother called them. Apparently you would save these up and go trade them in for things at the store. Cool? Yes!
2. A letter sent air-mail in 1959!!!! Although the content of the letter was sad and talked about the couples separation, it was really cool to get a little insight into this lovely desks life. I love my little antique Drexel desk!

The sad, but awesome to have, letter.

S&H Green Stamps. Did you know these were first offered in 1896?? I wonder how old mine could be....

I love having a piece of history in my hands! Bringing the past back to life again is something I hope to always achieve with my designs.

Well, off to bed for now. I hope to soon have pictures of my finished products and explanations for how to DIY! Doing things yourself can save a lot of money, and being a working college student in my own apartment in Atlanta, saving money is something I won't sacrifice!

But before I go, here is a price break-down for how I am DIY'ing the desk and the pub table.

• desk- free
• pub table- free
• pulls for desk- $44.88
• quart of Kilz oil based primer- $7.00
• Glidden latex paint in semi-gloss (yellow&red)- $20 ($10 per quart)
• quart of Minwax Waterbased Polycrylic Protective Finish in satin clear- $17
• rollers/brushes etc.- $10 (I had a few rollers already) 

      Total- about $100
                     ^^This my friends is why I don't mind getting used items and putting in some time to make them mine. Similar tables retail at $300 while a I couldn't find a 1950's Drexel desk selling for under $400, and these aren't even the colors or finishes that I would want.

Moral of the story: don't be too good for good deals and hard work.