Yay!

I'm super excited to show off my new desk! (Finally!)


So, here she is!

LOVE IT!

Here was my process...

Of course, I started with the bare minimum...

My fab freebie!

 Next, with the help of my awesome daddy, we removed the old hardware and sanded the entire desk with a palm sander and 300 grit sand paper.

This next step got complicated. The old drawer pulls were attached with two screws on each handle. Big screws. My new hardware was not so big screws and the old holes were obviously in the wrong spots. The holes were so big that filling them with wood filler would have been silly, so my daddy helped me cut a wooden dowel into small pieces and glue them in the holes. Here's how.

• We put a pieces of painters tape on the insides of the drawer faces, covering up the holes.
• We put a drop of wood glue in the holes. The tape kept the glue from going through the hole and just dripping off.
• We slid the dowel pieces into the holes and allowed the glue to dry them in place.
• This way, we only had to use a small bit of wood filler to even out the surface.

Then I primed the whole thing.

**tip** when using a new roller, make sure to soak it in water first so that the loose fabric pieces don't get on your surface

So, after waiting and waiting on coats and coats to dry, I painted 4 thin, even coats on the desk (as noted from my favorite blog YHL).

Then added two coats of my Minwax Waterbased Polycrylic Protective Finish in satin clear, allowed to dry, then drilled new holes for the new hardware and installed.

And isn't she beautiful??

I did actually go back with the sander and distress the edges just a tiny bit.
I love it!
And all for about $100!

• 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

I hope this can help for your future projects!

 Oh!

 

 

 

 

 

I did just celebrate a birthday and check out one of my presents!!

LOVE!!!

She isn't home with me yet, but she will be delivered in a few weeks!
It is my beautiful Rowe Sullivan Sleeper sofa!

I originally loved this next model... in white of course...

       but Gibson wasn't so comfortable. Beautiful... but not too comfortable. Not for my main sofa.

I love my Sullivan, and cannot wait to meet her!!

Quick Peek!

I'll say more later, but here is the final product!!

LOVE!!!

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.