"Make a Note" Desk

I love desks. I admit it. Desks and benches. That's all, really. Oh, and cool old chairs. But this post is about desks.

I found this old desk at Savers. At first glance, it wasn't too bad--it looked like wood. The thing was, though, that is WAS wood, but it had a faux-wood paint job. Interesting, but it didn't concern me too much then. I did notice that trim on the bottom left was broken, and I thought to myself, "I have a miter saw! How hard can it be??"

I took this picture after I started sanding down the top. If you look closely, you can see the broken trim at the bottom.

These are the pictures that should really tell the story--or they would, if I were a better photographer! You see, under the faux-wood paint job, there was another layer of paint. Green this time. And under the green paint, there was ANOTHER layer of paint! Something like "mauve." And under THAT--well, I think that was the original wood finish.

Hey, whoever owned this desk truly believed in recycling. I have to admire that!


Here's how it looks after being painted a soft gray with a black glaze. The top I painted with chalkboard paint.

Can't you just imagine writing messages like "Do your homework!" or "Don't forget to buy milk!" or maybe "Let's eat out!" on top?



Turned out it was a good thing I bought a 4-foot piece of molding for the bottom! It's HARD to get those bevel cuts just right!

My sister brought me a desk to paint for my niece today. After she saw this one, she decided her desk had to have a chalkboard top, too. I'm trading the refinish job for one of my sister's hand-sewn purses!