Since our house is pretty much a construction zone these days, we’ve been making due with the bare minimum in terms of furniture. The floors are almost fully installed, but the installers are coming back to clean off the excess glue this week, so we don’t want to get too settled until they’re done.
This weekend we broke down and finally moved two chairs and our TV back into the living room, and what a luxury THAT has been! The only piece that has been in the living room up to this point was the little red desk Stephen had been using in his office. Remember this picture?
Less than a month into Stephen’s new job, it became painfully obvious that the desk was way too small for all the work he needed to do on it. Once we moved it into the living room, he suggested we keep there and turn it into a homework desk for me.
We both thought a fresh coat of paint would improve the look of the piece, so we hauled it outside and started by removing the lower shelf.
After a quick once-over with the palm sander, I got out the spray paint! Remember that wine and white spray paint Stephen gave me for my last birthday? I’m happy to report that paint got put to good use (ok, ok, the wine did too)!
I painted the whole desk white but decided to add a little interest in a couple of areas. First, I addressed those skinny white legs. (All skinny white legs must be addressed this time of year, right girls?)
Sometimes all they need is a little bronzing! I gave these legs a paint-dipped look with three coats of gold craft paint. I have my pal Cassie to thank for this idea – I loved the end tables she painted several months ago and couldn’t wait to try out a similar treatment!
I picked up two new drawer pulls for $2 apiece at Hobby Lobby. I was specifically looking for teardrop style pulls and went a little crazy with the gold paint on these babies too.
Since I already had the spray paint and the gold craft paint and spent $4 on drawer hardware, you might be wondering where I spent the other $3 for this $7 desk. While we were at Hobby Lobby picking up the drawer pulls, I spotted this gorgeous white and gold wrapping paper. I loved it because it reminded me of this Kate Spade iPhone case!
A little spray adhesive later, and those desk drawers had lovely new lining! Isn’t that a fun surprise?
So that’s how our little red desk became my new homework desk. I think it will look perfect next to our new bookshelves once the living room is back in order.
What do you think of the makeover? My favorite part is the surprise drawer lining. 🙂
Oh, and yeah our floors are mostly done. I owe you a ton of photos, but what do you think of the preview?
More pictures to come!
