My Found Desk Gets A High Gloss Makeover

Remember the desk I found curbside for free that I recently placed in my studioffice?

It was a very pretty desk with great lines, but I didn’t like the color.  I envisioned it in high gloss white and over the past week I transformed it into that vision with paint.  I still have many other projects to do in this room, but I wanted to show you how the desk turned out.

The room is coming together one step at a time. I brought the ottoman I made from my bedroom into the room to see how it looks. It will probably go back up to my bedroom, but I wanted to play and see how some extra seating would look.  I need to make or find something in the same scale as the ottoman that will fit under the desk when not in use.

The desk has one large drawer and I posted about how I lined the desk drawer and made organizers out of small boxes for it.

This is how the desk looked-

Before

It had a beautiful aged and painted design. Very nice, but not quite my style.  The legs were pretty beaten up and white where the finish had worn in spots. 

To create the durable super extra high gloss finish I used Glidden Oil Base Trim and Door paint that I bought at The Home Depot. It is $19 a quart, but goes a very long way.

I know, I know… you are saying – “Yuck – no way am I painting with oil”

That used to be me. Once you see how this paint covers and shines, you may change your thinking.  It is incredibly shiny and dries to a super hard finish. I needed two coats. It took 24 hours to dry and did smell, but the wait was worth it – no brush marks at all!  It is as smooth as glass as the paint self levels.

It is gel paint – thick!  A paint stirring stick stands upright in it.  It only needs to be stirred gently– no shaking.  I used Bright White, but I think it comes in Antique White, Red, Black, and Navy.

To prep the desk for painting. I lightly sanded the entire desk with medium grit sandpaper, then cleaned it with a tack cloth to remove all the dust.  I used my trusty 2” angled Purdy paint brush and simply brushed the paint on.  Since the paint is thick  – I needed to push the brush into the strokes with a bit more pressure than normal to get it to spread out, but it went on quickly.  I let it dry for 2 days before I added a second coat.

Once it was dry I gave it more of my personality by adding my stuff.

You can see how shiny it is – the glass vase has a reflection.

I am thrilled with the desk – I am over the moon happy as I have never had my very own desk before. Growing up, I shared a room with my 2 sisters and we shared a desk.  In college I had a desk in my dorm room, but it was dark brown and attached to the wall with built in shelves.  It didn’t feel like a desk and I never used it.  I had a work bench for a while and then I made the Partners Desk that I shared with my family.   This desk is my very own – pretty and what I always imagined a desk should look like.

On one side I have all my pens and pencils, my second brain –my Rolodex, Pottery Barn clock, and flowers.

On the other end I keep all my colorful markers in a thrift store find, photos of my daughters when they were little, and a few favorite objects.

I still have more to do in the room – area rug, windows, table skirt, new chair cover, a few more furniture transformations, a mini photo studio and craft wall.   I will continue to post about the progress and projects as I complete them.

I will be busy, but I am enjoying creating a room that will not only look pretty, but be easy to work and create in also.

Tagged as: Decorating Before and Afters, Furniture Transformations, Glidden Paints, Painting Furniture