Secretary Desk Makeover: new look for antique piece


Furniture, Project Gallery / Saturday, December 1st, 2018

I love how a little paint can transform a room, a space or piece of furniture. Some chalk paint, Brasso and a little effort completed this antique secretary desk makeover!

But should you always paint used furniture? How do you decide if you should paint or stain? How do you even know you have a good piece of furniture to work on? You can check out some of my guidelines for selecting used furniture HERE.

Okay time to get back to the secretary desk makeover!

I picked up the desk at an estate auction in our first year of marriage and brought it home to our basement 2 bedroom apartment. Since then it has been moved countless times, up and down so many sets of stairs.

My husband became aware of several things in that first year of marriage…one of them being that I LOVE furniture (I had 2 desks already at the time I purchased this antique secretary desk) . I LOVE heavy solid wood furniture. And I LOVE to move and rearrange my furniture frequently.

He is always so gracious to me and never complains when I want to bring something new home or move something around. He is such a gift to me.

Secretary Desk Makeover steps

Let’s talk about the condition of the desk…

The desk is a combo of solid wood and wood veneer. When I bought it there were several spots where the veneer had chipped completely off. This did not bother me because I knew eventually I would be painting the desk and could patch those spots.

If I wanted to strip the desk of the old finish and stain it again, this could have been an issue. I would have had to repair the veneer or replace sections. Possible to do, but much more intensive labor and care.

Patch veneer/holes/imperfections

For patching pieces of furniture that will be painted, I like to use Bondo. It dries incredibly hard and after sanded, leaves a perfectly smooth finish. I don’t think it is stainable so it would not be ideal for all applications.

Bondo all purpose putty

The desk was a dark reddish/brown stain when I got it. The condition was poor. You can see in the picture below how much of the veneer was chipped off the front edges.

Several years ago I painted it a dark charcoal gray. Then I changed my mind and wanted to repaint it. Antique secretary desk before

secretary desk makeover part 1

Paint

So after patching any chipped veneer spots and giving them a good sanding, it was time to paint. I used Annie Sloan chalk paint in Duck Egg with a polycrylic clear satin finish.

I did do some distressing in spots to let some of the old finishes come through, which gave it a neat look.

Annie Sloan Chalk paint duck egg

Wood polish

I left the inside of the desk original wood finish. But it lacked a little luster so I used some Howard Restore A Finish on the wood. You can see the difference with only half done! This stuff is amazing!

secretary desk inside wood storage restore a finish on desk storage

Hardware

The hardware was in terrible condition! Turns out though it is real brass and with a little polish it shined right up! Brasso and an old toothbrush brought back all the beauty of these drawer pulls.

brasso before and after before and after brass hardware

Secretary Desk Makeover After Photos

secretary desk makeover after close up of brass drawer pulls inside of secretary desk makeover distressed desk leg

distressed duck egg secretary desk makeover

The desk is currently in our front room looking pretty…until I change my mind and move it elsewhere. It weighs a ton so it would take some convincing to have my husband help me move it again! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

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