Up-cycled Desk

A few weeks ago, while walking on Hyde Street in San Francisco, my husband and I came across this desk, sitting on the street, begging to be picked up and to be given a new life.

After talking about it, we decided to give it a try. My husband walked back home with the dog to go get the car, and I stayed by the desk with our son, keeping guard in case anybody else decided they wanted it too,

Step 1
Pick up desk!

Once we had the desk at home, I immediately knew what color I wanted it to be: yellow. We were about to move into a new house and I wanted to replace my old desk with something brighter and prettier.

Step 2
Clean the desk throughly, sand any imperfections to make the surface even. Paint the desk. For this you have to choose your color (the hardest part) and the finishing of your color. I chose a bright (but not too bright!) yellow in satin finishing.

I had to apply 3 coats of paint for the old color to be completely gone and for the yellow to be vibrant and completely even. I let each coat dry for about an hour before applying the next one. Generally, it took me about an hour to finish each coast so, as soon as I was done with one, I could immediately move to the next.  After I was done with all the layer, I recommend you let the piece dry for at least 24-48 hours before putting anything on it.

I used a fine paint brush used in artistic painting to pain the small details on the desk.

Step 3
Choose your knobs. This is the perfect way to add flare to your project. It's the perfect place to add your mark, your own personal touch. I went to Anthropology and chose this knob design because the copper matched the handles on my dresser and the red also matched the color of my dressed, pulling it all together nicely.

Step 4
Install knobs and admire your beautiful creation! Total cost of this project: Under $50.00.

I love all the storage this gives me. I'm planning on making a matching mini-shelf unit out of an Ikea table I bought to hold my printer a long time ago. More on that later...