I'm back at 'er

I know that it has been a while, but lastnight I was able to decompress and surf some home blogs. There are a few that I LOVE one that it strictly before and afters and then others that are moms with young ones that, when the project gets done its done. The speed depends on the agreeablility of ones husband as much as inspiration.

But lasnight, I got inspired, and hubby was out for the evening. And the kids, well they were actually very helpful and agreeable. I threw a drop sheet on the kitchen table, as it is December and a bit cold and damp outside, and I went to work. ((I would suggest using plastic under the drop sheet for your kitchen table. I had to do some scrubbing to get the paint that went thru the drop cloth onto the table.

So I onto the projects.....

You all remember the desk. ((I love it still)) I had to search and scope out stores to find a chair that would fit in that small space. I was actually looking for a stool, until I found this chair.

So these first 2 pictures are backwards. The chair ($8 at MCC) came with a big ugly price sticker. I googled and found out that using furniture polish (supposed to be actual oil) would lift the stickers right off. So I sprayed Endust and let it sit for a minute, then I had to scrape it off. But no damage to the wood or the lovely green paint.

Primed with 2 coats.

Then painted this morning. I have a feeling that this chair will need a few extra coats. I still haven't found the material that I want to pad the seat with. that'll come. As it is in the kitchen as a side bar of sorts, possibly co-ordinating fabric to the valances. We'll see.

Primed and not quite ready

This is the primer that I bought from Home Depot. It is multi use and I actually bought it to prime a couple of set of ikea shelves that I have that the blond wood is ultra annoying. I just haven't gotten around to clearing off the shelves to get them out to prime/paint. So it says on the side of the can for the primer to completely prime (*sorry not sure of the correct wording) the desk, to leave it for a week. Aggghhh. Seriously? So I am going to try to do that. I primed it yesterday Wednesday and I may cheat and paint it on Tuesday, as Wednesday will be busy and I don't see it getting done later next week. I am struggling now with the idea to do a stencil or something on the sides .. or to leave it. I guess we'll see how it all comes out. I am stressing about distressing the desk. I still have to buy the paint and the glaze.

The primed desk. The primer covered it very well. I was impressed. I used a foam roller with a rounded end to keep the primer going on even without leaving the slop that occurs on the end of the roller.

I have been looking for pulls for the drawers. Did you know that they are easily $5-9 each? There are $2 ones but lets face it, they look like $2 ones.

Here are the ones that I am leaning towards. Not sure which way to go. If you would be so kind to leave a comment in the comment section to let me know your idea, I'd love that

Thanks!

The desk sanded

The sanded desk

The sanded drawers

Sanding was a lot easier than I thought that it was going to be. The primer that I chose said that you didn't need to, but I wanted to try it out. There isn't any intricate work on this piece, so I thought that I would. The paint that was on it was glossy and seemed thick. So what the heck

The $10 Desk as it was when I bought it

I bought this desk for my DD#1 to use as a vanity for now and maybe move on to a proper desk as she grows. But I am loving the size and design so much, that I am strongly considering using it as a mini hutch beside our kitchen table. I am thinking white but aged & distressed. A tall black lamp, and a flower arrangement. The drawers for the kids' art supplies and such.

So as you can see I am a terrible blogger. I buy things then start on them, forgetting to take pictures as we go. With this one, it looks as though I had already begun sanding it.
drawer less
I bought this desk at Bibles for Missions once again.
I later went to Value Village and saw the same desk not painted for $149.99
I was shocked. I can appreciate wood furniture, but man oh man.

The drawers on the porch
So the pulls on this desk are made of wood, but shaped like rocks. They are terrible.
They are not going back on nor will they be re-used,
unless Hubby decides to build a climb wall for the kids.