Project 2: A Painted Desk for School

So, to keep the trend from this previous post about painting furniture to bring it into a modern era, so to speak, I have another project to show.

I found this older Pier One Imports desk and chair on the side of the road. It was in pretty rough shape with lots of dings and dents and no hardware to be found. I knew immediately that it was a perfect chance to have the desk I need for school. Similar to the previous furniture painting adventure, I had to first decide on a color. I wanted something bright and I saw a piece of furniture at a little store near where I live that has an entertainment center in a mustard yellow that I really like.

With the help of Home Depot, I chose a new piece of hardware and a nice yellow color that Lindsay spotted in a flash. After a nice bout of sanding and priming, I was able to paint the furniture a beautiful mustard yellow and it only took three coats (instead of the five required by the previous rolling bar).

A finished final desk to do my studies

I am glad that I decided to go with the yellow, I really love earth tones and this yellow ads a splash of much needed color to my living room.

Project 1: Paint Wood Furniture

1970's Era Wooden Bar on Wheels

I have this nice little 1970’s era rolling dry bar I bought at Goodwill in Saint Augustine, Florida while I was visiting my mother. I was instantly drawn to it as it was very detailed and an original piece. It had many flaws, as all real wood furniture does. But, in it I saw promise. Two years after I purchased the bar, It remained in exactly the same state it was in when I bought it. I was ready to toss the old bar and take my losses. LM wouldn’t let me toss it, because she liked it. I thought I would use my manly magic to “fix” the bar.

Let me tell you, I think I am really handy. I also believe I can do every project myself. Occasionally, I try something and destroy it in the process, case in point the pool stick fiasco of 2007. My roommate in college, JW, and I were playing bumper pool on my table (also purchased at Goodwill) while watching his Chicago Bears play on Monday night football. Opposing team returned a Sexy Rexy Grossman pass for a pick six. In a blind rage John slammed the pool stick against the couch, and crack… Now I have two much smaller pool sticks.

I know he felt badly, so I just “fixed” it with super blue and moved on. It was never anywhere close to the same again. So… thankfully, I have the option of using the Internet. I don’t know what we would do without the Internet anymore really. In my searches I found this blog. She was my motivation, and my teacher for this project.

I sanded the original wood Primed the wood for paint. Now, I knew I wanted this bar to be a dark, antique-y red. I went to the depot to choose my paint. The paint sales lady really had me second guessing myself, telling me that it would look pink and not red, unless I put on thick layers of paint. Thick layers would remove my desired effect of the wood grain slightly showing through. My girlfriend encouraged me to stick by my original idea. Boy am I glad I did. And applied five very light coats of red paint for the final step: I am really happy with the way it turned out. While I was driving around town, I found this little number on the side of the road. Considering it is a desk, and I don’t currently have one, it must really be a sign about my impending return to education.

Finally Finished