DIY Desk
Whoa a DIY. Are ya’ll surprised?? It’s been SO long since I’ve done one of these, and I don’t know why, because they’re so fun! Anyway, I’ve been quarantined for the last week and a half with the flu, so instead of going completely stir crazy I re-finished my desk. I’ve had this particular furniture since I was 14 and it definitely needed an adult facelift. You may notice there’s no computer, and since both of my jobs require lots of internet time, you may be wondering why. Well, my brand new HP Sprout is showing up today! I can’t wait to show you all the neat things it does.
Alright back to the desk. The first thing I did was spray the cubby. If you’re noticing that nifty geode drawer pull- it’ll be on the blog tomorrow!
First, remove the drawer and wipe down your area with warm water, Dawn, and a sponge. Then wipe down again with just warm water. Follow up by drying with a clean and old t-shirt. Second, take off your edges with painter’s tape. Then, pick your color. I am a spray paint queen and really love how well Rust-oleum works. The color pictured above is Satin French Lilac. Then it’s spray time! The first coat should be a LIGHT even spray, covering all surface areas. Take your time, and go slow. If you mess up, not to worry, just wipe it off right away. I let it dry for 5 hours and then resprayed.
Now, I’m not going into how to strip and stain a desk, because that’s not my area of expertise. It’s my friend Sarah’s at DIYstinctly Made! First the hubbs and I followed her sanding guidelines from the Refinished Antique Vanity post. Then, we did her staining how-to from the Farmhouse Bedside Table post. It was very easy (thanks to her step by step instructions and my husbands handiness) and the desk looks exactly how I pictured it.
The top of the desk was what bugged me the most. It was clear plexiglass and I wanted it to be more mirrored with an antique finish. Enter, my spray paint obsession:
First I scrubbed both sides of the plexiglass with warm water, Dawn, and the soft side of a sponge. Then I wiped it down with just warm water and the same sponge. Next, I thoroughly dried with an old and clean t-shirt so as not to leave behind particles.
After making sure it was dry, I sprayed one light coat of this Valspar metallic spray paint and let dry for 5 hours.
Once dry, I sprayed the glass with an apple cider and water mix- 1:1 ratio. After 30 minutes I took a fine grain sanding block to the spray paint. I focused heavily on the edges, with light sanding in the middle. I then wiped down the glass with warm water and a sponge, then dried with an old and clean t-shirt. To finish I sprayed a light coat of Charcoal Rustoleum Metallic Spray Paint and ta-daaaa I had my antique mirror desk top!
The finished product! And I cannot love it more!
Tomorrow I’ll tell you how I made these sweet little sparkles!
Great job Jessica! I love your sense of style!
Kim you are so sweet! Thank you!
So cute!!! DIY projects are a lot of fun because you can make something look exactly how you want it to.
Its given me the DIY bug, that's for sure!!
So great! I love DIY projects, but I really love reading the real life and knowing someone did it successfully!!! 🙂 Thanks for the tips and share
ABsolutely! Good luck with all of your DIY!
What an incredible project to knock out while you were sick! And what a fabulous end product. Love what y'all did to the desk! My mom and I stripped/sanded and stained a dining room table a few years back. It's a time-consuming process, but the final product is stunning!
Isn't it fun to have someone to work on it with? My mom is helping me with my next project!
we love DIY projects and we have a cabinet I need to revitalize to better match a new rug. thanks for the tips
Absolutely! Hope all of your DIY goes well!
That came out awesome. You did a great job 🙂
Every time I see your name I start laughing- best ever! Thank you mama!
You did a great job! I wish I were talented in that area. 🙂
Logan, if I can do it, you sure can! Seriously. 😉
I love the way this desk turned out…great job!
Thank you so much!
Love the sparkly touch you added. Dramatic makeover!
I'm all about that sparkle!
I Love D-I-Ys … Great Project and I loved the outcome. The Pink chair complimented the Desk really well
Thank you! Pink and purple! Does it get better?
Wow you made that desk look amazing. Loving the purple you used.
Rebecca you are so sweet, thank you!
This is so adorable! I love what you did with this desk.
Thank you! I can't wait to hand it down!
This looks beautiful. I love the draw pulls cannot wait to see those on the blog tomorrow! The metallic spray paint on the glass is genius!
Kristin, thank you! I hope you like the Geode drawer pulls too!
This looks great!
Thank you!
I really, really wish I was the crafty type. I would love to do something like this.
I bet you could do this! I am not super handy, I promise 😉
Everything looks great. I like the sparkles too, looking forward to hearing more.
Thank you! It was super fun.
Wow, that came out great. I made a desk out of two file cabinets and a piece of white lacquered wood but all I had to do was put the wood on top of them!
Hey that took time and effort too! Go us!
What a neat idea, one of a kind too! Great way to spruce up plain knobs!
Aw thank you mama!
I am loving this kind of bling for sure. I am trying to figure out the wall piece, I LOVE it. My girlie would love that, and she needs it too. The wall piece, did you add dividers or did it come like that?
Marilyn- I got it at Michaels! They have an organizer section that's normally 50% off and I just spray painted it purple!
Great work!! Keep it up you're killing it!!
Daniel, thank you!!!
Great desk!
Aw thank you!!
I love the desk! We have a super plain black desk, which I love, but I'd love to spruce it up with some inner color like you did!