A Captain's Desk Makeover

Hola everyone! It was a beautiful day here in San Antonio, and I've been taking a break from painting since our booth transition has just begun. I'm a little nervous about how this transition is going to turn out, but at least we're getting our name out there. Anyway, I thought I'd share a makeover on a sweet Captain's Desk I found on Craigslist a while back.

Originally, it was this orang-ey stain color with a heavy clear varnish. It was missing a handle, the back needed replacing since holes were drilled through it and the top(folds down)stuck. I wanted to style this for a kid's room as a writing desk with chalkboard in the top three panels but my husband talked me out of it and said it would be cheesy. I'm so glad he did.

We filled the existing hardware holes and sanded the entire piece. Since this is an oak piece, I knew that it would absorb a lot of paint, and I wasn't sure if I'd have any bleed through with the previous stain/finish. So I gave it about three coats of spray shellac(clear)to prevent those issues.

I decided to go with a chippy and slightly distressed look on this one. I choose Country Chic Paint's "Vanilla Frosting" as this is a creamy, warm white. We shaved the fold down top a little so it wouldn't stick, and we added some cute teardrop pendants I found at hobby lobby to help with the opening. I love the character the keyhole adds to the piece. 

I didn't want the piece to be blinding so I thought, "why not give it a colorful surprise?" Since we were replacing the backing anyway, I chose Behr's "Cool Lava," to be the "pop of color."

We added some simple oval brass knobs, and sealed it in General Finishes HP Topcoat in Satin. I think this desk is perfect functionally for a small space. You can practically place it anywhere and it will fulfill the needs of the space.

This piece sold within a couple of days! I'm always excited that other people see the potential in my fixer upper pieces.