Weddingbee boards

Sometimes I like frequenting thrift stores as a hobby to see what kind of treasures other people consider to be trash.

I snagged a really cute mid-century modern desk with some really good bones, but it's aesthetically a little worse for wear in its present state. But at $15, I figured I could overhaul it and make it really cute. If I mess up, what's $15 to pursue a hobby?

Does anyone have any experience with re-doing old furniture? If so, what did you find to be most difficult, and do you have any tips to make my project smoother?

If you have any experience in decoupage, let me know how it went. Not a requirement to respond to my post, but I am curious about that aspect.

Show me your trash-to-treasures!

@tksjewelry:  This is not THE desk, but for ease of showing you quickly what I have, I've found this picture of a very similar desk. The difference is: mine is not nearly as well kept (or else i'd leave it as-is) and mine has a laminate top. Laminate is not going to hold paint very well at all, which is why I was sort of contemplating the decoupage. I am not opposed to mixing mediums, but I've never done decoupage before so i'm a little nervous.

Also, the hardware on the drawer pulls with my desk are more pronounced, and are sort of a focal point.

Thanks, ladies! It's not THE desk, but looks structurally is almost identical.

Do you have any tips, or anecdotes of redoing furniture that might give me some insight? Also, should i try to revive the natural wood and stain it and only paint the top, or would it be best to have a uniform look?

I'll get some before & after pictures of MY desk (my computer user properties are all messed up, so i can't save new pictures to my hard drive at the present moment). I'd like to see more of these posts on the bee; i think it would be fun!

@Bostongrl25:  There's no shame in rescuing furniture! Truth be told, I hit up the Goodwill all the time because people get rid of some amazing antiques, and they just don't know it. I'm a history major / museum professional, so that sort of thing is really appealing to me.

If you scout around online for midcentury modern, it costs SOOO much more than the $15 I paid, which makes me giddy. My husband has kind of expressed an interest in me sprucing things up and selling for profit, but I'm not sure if I have the heart to part ways with my treasures as i find them. :-)

That bench thing sounds like a lot of fun to overhaul, especially since the previous owners left it behind. we inherited an entertainment center tv stand kind of thing from the previous owners at my house, but it's actually a nice piece and I don't want to mess with it. This desk on the other hand, needs lots of love.

@red dino:  Thanks for the tip on the inexxpensive paint! Paint can get up there in price too, so that really helps (I have a hideous wood panel wall in my den that I need to do something about, so this will come in handy). Your matching set came out rather well.

@julies1949:  Thank you for adding that! Maybe I will try to sell some of my treasures after I get good at overhauling them. Especially with as profitable as it seems it could be!

I don't have any pictures but I refinished and stained a solid oak table set (small fold down round table and two chairs) and also recovered the chairs, I have refrinished a birch bookshelf, I have redone an old desk and matching chair, and finally done a kids table and chair set.

I think my best tips are to use a hand sander to get an even finish. If you have never used one before, be sure to use large circles so you don't get lines sanded into the wood. Also, make sure you put even pressure on the sander, as you don't want the edge to wear into the wood. I usually sand with a low grit paper first to take off the original paint, then sand with a fine grit to make it smooth. After sanding, I fill with woodfiller and hand sand with paper after to make sure it is smooth.

Staining-- make sure you have lots of rags and do a little bit at a time! You have to brush it on and wipe it off, so you want to wipe it off BEFORE it dries. Also, go with the grain when brushing and wiping.

I think your desk project should go smoothly. The leg will be a HUGE pain because the electric sander will make a round leg flat so you need to do it by hand. The handle replacement is super easy and sanding the rest should be pretty fast. If the top is laminate and in good shape, you can actually spray paint it with a special paint if you are interested.

FINALLY getting around to painting my desk friend now that the weather is nice. Here is a before picture. I will put up after photos once I'm finished. I've painted it white so far. Could use a coat or two more, and then I intend to stencil in some green trim for the day when I join "Team Green." . . . Whenever that is. Until then, I'll stick it in our foyer area. :-) 

Here's my AFTER photo. I'm ambivalent on the birdies on the drawers. I can always change it, and for $15.00 I can do whatever the hell it is I want to it anyway. :-)  

@microscope:  Holy moly! That's an amazing chair! How did you find the sale? I know hotel stuff should be in relatively good condition, considering they often overhaul according to style quite often.

@AmeliaBedelia:  Thanks!!! It was fun, and I can't wait to do more projects. 

@rubyroad10:  That's so cute! It LOOKS like a bed! Headboard & posters even! So glad your doggie loves it. Any stupid cat bed I bring home, my cats will sit in for maybe 5 minutes, and never touch again. Grr. I wish they'd stop laying on my folded laundry!!