A few weeks ago I decided I needed my own desk for crafts because the computer desk that I was using has become Alex's clutter zone. I was on the hunt for a while until last week when I found this one at Habitat for humanity! A little rough around the edges, but It was too cute to pass up for only $40!

The desk was going to need a lot of work to get it looking like the desk in my dreams. The top was full of scrapes and holes. Some of the drawer hardware was missing, and it was very outdated. Some of the wood around the base of the drawers was peeling off, and needed to be fixed. BUT I was determined! I decided to get up early on my Sunday off, and get to work fixing her up.

Tools I gathered for the project:



Sandpaper (In the end I mainly used two sandpaper sponges in Medium 80/100)

Nitrile Gloves

TSP (Trisodium Phospahte Cleaner to help the primer adhere to the wood after sanding)

A sponge for the TSP Cleaning

A can of Primer (for this desk I used a little over half the can)

Chalkboard Spray Paint

Paint for the finished product (I used a light satin blue using the $2.98 sample size from Lowes)

A nice Paintbrush

Drawer Hardware (if you're changing it)

A face mask for spray painting

Tarp/Old sheets

After I gathered all my materials outside on a tarp outside on the deck. I put on my gloves and started sanding. This was definitely the hardest part. I spent a lot of time working on the top since there were a lot of deep scratches and holes. I did not sand the rest of the desk as much because it did not look as bad as the top. (If you plan on staining the desk you need to sand the entire desk down past the finish.)

For me the next part was doing the drawers. Unfortunately this desk was made back in the day with the drawer pulls spaced differently. They spaced it 2 5/8" and now you can only find new hardware spaced at 3". I had to buy wood filler to seal the old holes before I sanded the drawers because I really wanted new hardware for my desk.

After a little over 4 hours of sanding the desk it was time to use the TSP. Follow the directions on the box, and clean the desk from bottom up. Be careful not to get this on your skin or in your eyes.

After washing it I moved all the parts to another part of the deck, so the tarp would not get wet when rinsing. To rinse I poured warm water over the desk multiple times, and then patted it dry with an old towel. I let it sit in the sun for about an hour to let it dry completely before priming.

After it was completely dry I moved everything back to the tarp to prime. I started with the main part of the desk first and then did the drawers. By the time I finsished the last drawer it had already been a little over an hour, so I started on the second coat. I only did two coats, and for me it covered very well. I was using a light color, so I wanted to make sure the wood wasn't showing through. Priming everything took close to 3 hours.

I was fighting the wind during this project, and that meant leaves were constantly flying all over the place. I actually used the leaf blower a few times in between each process to get them out of the way. Luckliy I did not have a problem with them landing on any of the wet surfaces.

When I first decided that I was going to get a craft desk I knew I wanted a chalkboard top. I wanted to do the chalkboard paint first, so in case any accidentally got on other parts of the desk I could cover it with the final color. I taped off the desk with blue painters tape, and even added some paper to prevent any accidents.

It got very windy when I was ready to paint, so I had to wait. Spray painting in wind is a waste of paint. Even though I was anxious to finish I sat it out.

The spray paint said it would take close to an hour to dry, but it was dry to touch after about thirty minutes. I was excited to remove the tape and pulled a little too fast in some places. I had to touch up a couple spots with the primer, but it was nothing major.

As you can see in the picture I decide to paint the inside of the longdrawer witht he chalkboard paint. This was the drawer with the mysterious ink that bled though every layer of primer, so I had to think fast. I think it was a good idea anyways since that will probably be a drawer for pencils and such that would mark up the light paint.

After that paint dried completely I painted two layers of the satin paint using a sponge brush to prevent stroke marks. By the time I finished it was dark, and I could'nt take a good picture. I only used one of the sample size containers of paint, so I will have plenty for touch ups down the road. I did paint the insides of the other drawers, but I decided that my next task witll be lining them with some nice paper to protect the paint.

I had Alex drill new holes in the drawers to put in the new hardware using his electric drill. I added the hardware,and put the desk together in it's new home. The shelf on top is actually a small office organizer I found at Target on clearance ($11 Yes!)that I thought would be perfect on top for extra storage.



AND FINALLY.......The finished project!

Altogether this project cost around $120. I know I could have gotten a new desk for that price, but after the hard labor I put into this I will cherish it more.

I will definitely add a picture of the desk in full use, but last night I was too exhausted to organize, ha!



Thanks for reading!

See you later.

-abbeylayne