Need advice on what to do with this desk!

12 years ago

I got this beast of a beauty at a thrift store for a steal, and had my DH and his burliest friend move it to my in progress crafting space, which unfortunately is in the basement. (Afterwards they said it will die and be buried there because they are NEVER moving it out!) Its got great character, but I'm torn between wanting to paint/distress it (thinking Annue Sloan chalk paint in Old White or Paris Gray) to make it work better in my dark space, and not wanting to cover the beautiful woodwork. Sanding and restaining it is not an option, way too much work for this DIYer, and as previously mentioned, this piece is not moving.) any thoughts? What would you do with this piece? (Also posted over on the furniture forum.)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

User
12 years ago
I would shudder to cover up that beautiful oak finish on the top surface. If the sides of desk or drawers need refinishing, I'd still go with sand and re-finish. In my humble opinion, it's a crime to cover up natural wood, especially this kind of beautiul oak. A few years ago, my brother and I talked until we were blue to talk my sister in law out of her silly idea to paint her maple early american dining set in colors to reflect mexican colors, i.e. bright blues, reds, orange, green. We were horrified that she thought it was okay to paint natural wood, especially maple, in such colors, and the way she would have done it sounded like a carnival ride. The dentil molding on the edge is wonderful, seems a shame to cover it with other than the original finish, as it reflects the beauty of the wood, as it is. If this is your craft area, I'd advise a glass top, which can be expensive, and leave it as is. Good luck!
GeeMee2
12 years ago
I agree, shudder to see that destroyed, especially with chalk paint!!!!
Related Discussions
Ordering cabinets soon - changing desk area & need advice.
Q
Comments (2)
I do want a landing space for mail and the paper, keys and stuff that I can deal with on a small counter and hopefully keep off of the island. Just wondering if I should do a counterheight unit with no stool space - all lower storage -> countertop then upper cabinets...do the upper cabinets come out the full depth of the lower unit (in this case 21") or are they not as deep? And - what would be the distance from the counter to the uppers?
...See More
What do I do? I need advice from people who know lawns!
Q
Comments (7)
On the back of the bag of the turf builder, it said to do it once a week for 4 weeks. And it shows what the grass should be doing in each week. I got to application 3 and everything was fine. I stopped it there because then the heat came and turned everything yellow. In the picture, i applied turf builder to that area. It was great until it turned 90 and above for the weekend and it all turned yellow except for that one really green edge. I applied it there because the rest of that grass belongs to my neighbor. The watering schedule is sun, tues, and thursday at 6am for 10 minutes. The sprinklers are set up to cover the whole area that is my yard in the frpnt and back, so I can get an inch of water with those in 10 minutes. According to the landscaping company. But that just started this past sunday. A month ago i would do a spray with the hose every other day. I dont know how much i watered, but i would skip a few days after a rainy day. Maybe I watered too much. (-.-) The HOA landscapers are not optional for my neighborhood sadly. So i cannot control the mowing aspect of my lawn care, but I can control the water system and everything else.
...See More
Need advice: should I stain a wood desk the same color as furniture
Q
Comments (7)
I think you should try to match the rest of the bedroom furniture. However, getting colors to match can be difficult, because the wood of the desk may be different from the wood of the dresser which affects the Final Color. Moreover, even if the wood is the same, you don't know what color stain was used on the dresser. I suggest you use a gel stain which is thicker and less likely to drip and run. Start with a medium brown similar to your dresser. Check the color on the back of the desk for an idea of how it will look overall. Wipe off excess stain and let it dry. You can add a second coat if the color is too light, but be careful not to end up making the desk darker than you want. Note that I do not think all wood furniture in a room has to match. That is because wood is, to me, a neutral color. The pieces below are reddish-brown, dark brown and painted, but they work together because they are all have a similar classic design. The furniture design below is a mixture of styles and ages. Some of the wood is natural and other pieces painted.
...See More
5 Desks, Small Office : Need advice please
Q
Comments (5)
What is draining you is the lack of ventilation. If you can't'open a window, you should have several HEPA or MERV air purifiers in there. The very quietest and most effective air purifiers you can get are from Clean Air Kits. If you are willing to assemble them yourself (10 minutes) they cost less than the purifiers that come pre-assembled for you. These are still equivalent to anything you can purchase from a big box store. If your boss will only buy a brand name, buy Levoit Core 300. But Clean Air Kits (designed by Corsi-Rosenthal) are not only quieter they are more effective if you need to place them near walls or close to big desks. https://www.cleanairkits.com https://www.bestbuy.com/site/levoit-core-300-true-hepa-air-purifier-white/6462880.p?skuId=6462880&extStoreId=549&ref=212&loc=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwseSoBhBXEiwA9iZtxiq_v7yTF9MGsdWQpUbmIT_oB_6rAl4iLNHt_9eZDSnVVmyMgwllVxoCM0UQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds No matter which of these purifiers your office buys, the office will need to purchase more than one purifer based on the size of your office and the number of people working in it so you can position them around the space fairly. These purifiers are small. About the size of small wastepaper basket or a six-month supply of printer paper boxed. They are extremely lightweight and easy to move around.
...See More
concretenprimroses
12 years ago
What a perfect crafting table it makes!
I suggest leaving the top (or lightly refinishing it) as that will be the best work surface. Chalk paint doens't seem like a good work surface to me. But I say go ahead and paint the side drawer parts. Just be care ful not to paint things shut which means a couple of light coats with light sanding in between. Not sure chalk paint is the best choice for this, but then I have never used it.
Kathy
Ina Plassa_travis
12 years ago
Chalk paint won't stick to either an oil-based finish, or poly, so you'd have to scuff-sand it anyhow...and then it will burnish in funny places, and rub off in others, and whether that's 'authentic aging' or 'hot mess' is a roll of the dice.

if it were going to be someplace where is wasn't going to be covered with projects most of the time (it IS going to be a work surface, right?) refinishing the top might be feasible. the pedestals? not so much fun, especially those dentils.

what sort of crafts do you do? are you going to be running a rotary cutter across it? painting? that will give us some idea of what we need to protect it from : )
User
12 years ago
I have a beautiful old desk from the extinct Uniroyal company in Eau Claire, WI. I have not done a single thing to mar it...it's perfect, in my estimation. I store tons of craft and art tools in it, and do all of my projects on it's surface. I agree with the poster who suggested a glass top.
nicole__
11 years ago
It's been a year. What did you do with it?

***********************************************************************
Here's one I did:

Before:

After:
christine1950
11 years ago
Its beautiful, you did such a nice job..
steiconi
11 years ago
Heck, it's yours, paint it any way you like!

The top looks like pine to me, might have been purchased "nude" then finished by the homeowner.
karenmo
11 years ago
Gosh, she's going to use it for a craft table! She should do whatever she wants, and since it's been a year, I bet she's using it as is, and loving it! I'd probably paint it a shiny white, but since it's down in the basement, I might just leave it as is, and enjoy!

Need advice on what to do with this desk!

Comments (9)

User

GeeMee2

Related Discussions

concretenprimroses

Ina Plassa_travis

User

nicole__

christine1950

steiconi

karenmo

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US