Saturday 8 October 2011

The Desk I Built


Or maybe I should call it the Chameleon bedside drawers??

These bedside drawers started off like this -

And Finished like this -

Not such a dramatic change I hear you say.  But wait.

The original drawers were a freebie from a member off my local freecycle group.  And I was chuffed when I picked them up as the only description was - brown 4 drawer bedside cabinet to give away.  That description could have described just about anything.  I did have to fix the back left corner, as part of the top had chipped away.  I just squared off the chip and ironed on some veneer (which I got from the hardware store)  The veneer wasn't the same colour but I was going to paint it anyway.

I enlisted the unpaid help (who always seems shows up when I have a paintbrush in my hand :-) ).



And set about decoupaging the top with a cute saying by Audrey Hepburn


To finish up with this


errrgh...
I had painted the drawers pink as I was going to put it in little angels room, but wasn't happy with the look.  The ink ran (as I just printed off from our ink jet printer) and the top was lumpy.  A bit of distressing later...still not happy.

So I stripped the top and found some better quality wrapping paper.  Again with Mod Podge and...


Hmmmm.  No, it still wasn't working for me.

On to plan B

Repaint cupboard, add new handles and a piece of board I had from pulling apart our entertainment unit, and tadaaaa

I see a new desk.

I stripped the top of the "table" and added the legs to all four corners of the table (the cupboard was a bit short, yes I know I could have shortened the legs, but I wasn't so sure I could cut them evenly).  A lick of paint to the legs and a splash of stain to the table top, plus I added so moulding to the edges.


The below picture shows where I patched up a dirty great big hole.  I just used the same stuff you patch walls with (not a wood specific product) and stained it.  I think it came up ok.

 And the final product I am very pleased with.

The legs were bought from a hardware store and I attached them to the top using a base plate that the legs then screw into.



I love the daintiness of it.  This is going to be my little sewing table.  I keep forgetting to remove that plastic flooring, I only notice it in the photos.

I am proudly linking to:
Sawdust and Paper Scraps





Funky Junk's Sat Nite Special







7 comments:

  1. Great transformation. Great job building the table over the chest of drawers and I love those handles (and think the white was a good choice.)

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  2. Looks very pretty! Great job thinking outside the box by adding the table top and legs!

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  3. Hi ladies, thanks for the kind comments. I am very happy with the way it came up (in the end lol).

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  4. This turned out great! Love the look and I'm glad that others go through multiple steps before they get something they are happy with :) I run into that problem as well!

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  5. Oh I love it when you have to resort to plan B. Happens to me all the time. I think you have done a great job with your bedside/desk.
    I have spent all day painting an old farmhouse table - the legs are white and I have sanded back the pine top. I want to stain it - what stain/varnish did you use?
    Cheers
    Kylie

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  6. Thanks Kristen, Multiple steps is how I roll these days. Sadly, I used to be turned off DIY because it didn't work out how I saw it in my head first time. But thanks to the world of "Blog", I have learnt that, its nothing that a lick of paint can't fix (and sometime several licks).

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  7. Hi Kylie, I used Cabots Walnut interior stain (just one coat, and I left it on for quite a few minutes before wiping off, just to really let it soak in.) Then a couple of coats of Cabots Cabothane Clear in Satin (I found a water based one, it made wash up so much easier)Its meant to be clear, so no yellowing over time. Good luck with your table. I'm off to paint some door trim while the kiddies are in day care.

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