Some of the best things in life are old, loved, rescued.....and VERY HEAVY!

My recent desk makeover was this beautiful vintage wooden solid desk. I wish furniture was still made this way. It is so hard to find that there is no way I could pass this one. Unfortunately, since my intention was to redo and sell, I had to paint over the wood because sanding would take too long. Sorry my fellow wood lovers!!

 The wood on this piece had seen better days and it had gouges on other places:

and so did the leather top that I decided to replace. Ugh! That was a horrible task lol. I ended up not liking how it looked after all that work. Oh! and I added a power surge to the top with USB for easy electronic charging. Either way, I won't sell anything I am not proud of and absolutely love....this was the first outcome

To me, the brown faux leather clashed....It was hard to pull off the original leather and replace so I thought I'd paint it. That was a FAIL. In addition, the tack strip was not straight at all. Ack!

 Guess what I did? Removed it AGAIN! At least I found that I did a good job adhering it (with good ol' mod podge) because it was just as hard to remove this as it was removing the original leather!

Immediately after, I remembered seeing something cool on pinterest (I have a love/hate relationship with that site, more love though) Anyway, I had this brilliant idea to fill the part where the leather used to be with a cork roll I bought at Joanne Fabric. It was the thinnest piece of something I could find. Well, at least something worked the first time.

Mod podging craft paper is not easy for beginners but everyone starts out as a beginner.....I almost cried....

I had to work hard to get all the edges smooth and even and after I applied poly over the paper about 5 times, the painters tape still peeled off some parts. NOOO!! Still, I was in luck and I was able to camouflage with paint.  Finally, I decided to further camouflage with vinyl paper. I had to meticulously cut it evenly (thankfully my kids paper trimmer for school projects came in handy!) It was not easy though. Well, low and behold here is the after photo....Note: for now, I am undecided on what to do with this beautiful chair.....it does match the rest of the house....just not the desk!

I worked tirelessly on this desk and my 9 year old loves it....so it is HIS!! The drawers have come in handy and as a result, there is less clutter on his desk. His last desk didn't have any drawers and the clutter was unsightly! So, we are happy with it. Now every time I walk by this desk, it reminds me hard work pays off in more ways than one.

If you have any questions on mod podging furniture, feel free to ask away!  Thanks for stopping by....I am off to work. Stay posted for more furniture restorations and if you are local, maybe you'll find a treasure here😊

 

Vintage Desk Makeover Nightmare

Better late than never I suppose....but here goes my FIRST vintage desk makeover nightmare:

Once upon a time I saw a beautiful heavy desk at a steal and it was too good to pass.....so I thought

I knew it was not nearly in perfect condition, but that was the job I set myself up for. I had no idea... Just look at this peeled veneer:

That was not easy to work with....I just have to be thankful that the wood was in overall good condition and not rotted or anything beyond repair! There was a drawer that didn't fit in well enough without leaving a gap so, little did I know, I had my work cut out for me. 

I decided to get rid of the drawer all together and add a cute shutter (just in case someone has a PC!) I thought it was a great idea and I luckily I have a handy man around the house. I sure needed the help! Nonetheless I was on my own for most of it....imagine my dismay when I realized just how much veneer I had to scrape off and after sanding the top we did not see the beautiful grain I imagined. The scraping was tedious:

Then the "best" part was having to add new trim after painting and unsuccessfully attempting to camouflage flaw. Let's just say the existing trim had it's day and desk was very much loved. Apparently by a cat with the scratch marks I found during inspection (sorry, I didn't take a photo of that)

Anyway, low and behold with lots of TLC and elbow grease my vintage desk makeover went from rags to riches (at least I like to think so) And drum roll please.....here she is all made up:

Yep, there is the added trim around the bottom end of the top drawers (I found the right size just by luck) and there is more trim around the desk top (to hide the self adhesive wood panels I added to the top) So the desk has sort of an inlayed appearance.....not due to a mistake but as Bob Ross likes to say "a happy little accident." I posted this on line and it sold before the paint dried! Within a day *poof* gone like magic! 

Note: I must be a glutton for punishment but it felt so nice to see this come together and reused instead of thrown into a landfill! That being said, I am at it again....and the surprises keep coming! 

Here is another similar makeover that wasn't so hard but this desk wasn't as heavy. I decided adding wood to the bottom would give it a nice pedestal appearance. The drawers were in mint condition. I just didn't like how they were unsteady but that's how it was built. Here is the before and after:

It took a little longer to sell. Unfortunately, I  had one potential buyer come take a look and decided it wasn't sturdy enough. Ouch. I hope that was it!  The next customer went for looks and fell in love instantly. Just look at that natural wood grain on the top! I love it and I would not stress the sort of flimsy drawers.  It has to be my favorite by far. Of course, I am on to the next and it is a lot harder than I thought. Guess it comes with the territory.....I cannot wait to show you what I did to my third makeover and what lessons I have learned. Hopefully I can save someone from making the same mistakes I did. Obviously Google, YouTube or Pinterest couldn't help. Stay tuned :)