Refinished Desk

When I was pregnant with Noah I found this desk on Craigslist for $20. I has beautiful lines and details that will work in Noelle's room but it was unfortunately spray-painted black...poorly spray-painted. It needed some major TLC which is what I was finally able to give it.

First I sanded it down to a smooth surface and wiped it down with a wet cloth.

Then I primed, primed, and primed again. Seriously - 3 bloody coats of primer.

I also lightly sanded it between coats of primer. 

Next step - Paint!

I mixed 1 cup of Noelle's wall color with 1 cup of white and added a shot of Floetrol.

Floetrol is absolutely imperative when painting furniture. It makes the brush strokes disappear, therefore giving you a smooth surface. 

I bought new silver handles but decided first to paint the old ones to see if I liked them. Luckily there was just enough Heirloom White left in my paint cabinet to cover all 4 of them. 

 I ended up loving the look of the off-white handles against the soft green. 

Here she is!

The desk fits perfectly in Noelle's room and she wasted no time filling it with crayons, paper and a few toys. 

My last step was 2 coats of Polyurethane to make it nice and shiny.

Wow, this post makes it look so easy! It actually isn't a whole lot of work - just a whole lot of time and patience - Prime, wait, sand, repeat. Paint, wait, sand, repeat. And hope that in the end you have a piece that you love and will keep for a long time.

If you're looking for detailed information on how to paint furniture check out this post from Centsational Girl and this post from All Things Thrifty.