refinishing
As you can no doubt tell, I’ve been a bit busy lately.
What have I been up to? Well, there’s work — that outside-the-house, 45 hours a week type of job — and then there’s the whole revising a novel thing and preparing for a writer’s conference (ordering new business cards and whatnot). And then there’s our house, what with the painting and cleaning it needs.
Here’s one house thing I’ve been working on: an old desk of mine. Used to be a basic wooden desk. Here’s what it used to look like (not the best angle, but you get the idea):
I got tired of the sad, worn-down desk. I mean, it’s a pretty shade of wood, but not really my style. So I went at it with some spray paint. And more spray paint. And ended up with spray paint all over my arms and legs, because, well, I’m a whole-hearted refinisher. If I’m going to invest my time in something, it’s not gonna be a half-hearted effort.
So after several weekends of being covered in spray paint and getting polyurethane all over my fingers, I ended up with…
This:
I decided on black, so it could go in the guest room (you’re getting a peek at the guest room color now), and I wanted to take advantage of the cool curves and grooves that the desk had, so I decided to highlight them by painting them white. Because of the bold color on the wall, everything else in the guest room is black, white, or gray, and it was easy for me to picture the right colors for the desk.
Not gonna lie, it was a ton of work – between the sanding and spray painting and “not sure if this clear coat is gonna go on clear” conundrums but I figured it out and made it work and I’m loving the way it turned out. Here’s hoping it holds up!
What about you – have you ever attempted to refinish a piece of furniture? How did it turn out (or have you repressed the memory)?