Friday I had to go to the doctors to do my favorite test: the mammogram (who loves this, honestly!) and I treated myself a round along all the charity shops and vintage furniture shops on the way bag home. Needless to say, I had a great time and soon forgot the reason for my escapades.
I saw lots of great things but bought just a few. The most wonderful vintage furniture store find is this: an old School Desk!! I bought it on the spot! It was only minutes after I ‘d asked the antique dealer kind of desks he had (I need a computer desk that’s just the right size and style), when this guy stopped his car and brought out this old school desk, and put it on the pavement. The dealer paid 20 for it; and I paid 25. Took it home. A matter of minutes. It is perfect.
As you can tell it has a nice shape to it. It’s nice and wide, but not too wide so that it fits perfectly in our living room between the kitchen door and the French doors that lead to the garden. And because it is not too deep, it does not cut in too much into our dining area space. Best of all: I have 2 drawers to hide my mess at dinner time! Whohoo!
Look: someone used it as a summer party bar:
…
See those lovely vintage ink pot holders? Cute! And the nice black metal table top lifts. Beautiful.
How to finish an Old School Desk?
I immediately started sanding it down and cleaning it up. But then I thought: ‘ Wait a minute! My online friends know better than I what to do with this old beauty. Why not ask them?1” And so here I am talking to you all today. Please leave me a comment (or email me) with your creative ideas.
In a follow-up post, I will share your collective ideas. And in a third post, I’ll share what I will have actually done to it.
I can’t wait to hear what you all have to say!
Rose, this is definitely an awesome find and the price was just right. Not knowing your style of decor in the area you are placing it – it will be hard to give you ideas. However, I have never seen a double desk like this and it looks like it in very good shape. You could sand it as the top looks to have just finish wear on it and then restain it to go with your decor. Or if you prefer the trend of today you could paint the base with chalk paint in a color of your choosing. ( This way you could forgo any sanding on that part). Then sand and stain the top in a beautiful wood tone. The inside of the desk could be painted with a contrasting color of chalk paint. I would just clean those ink wells and shine them up and touch up the side metal with some black paint. I’m sure what ever you choose to do it will be beautiful when you are finished. Cathy
Oh, Thank you, Cathy. These are great suggestions!
Dear Rose! What an awesome find!!
I use chalk paint and I don’t sand anything (save yourself some trouble).
I don’t know your decor, so I can’t say which colour to use, but black, white or GREY, are great choices!
I am right now painting a side board in a very light grey. I mixed half white and half grey.
Two coats of chalk paint (I’m a retailer for CeCe Caldwell’s chalk and clay paints, but I imagine you can find other brands there in Europe).
I distress with a wet cloth, instead of sanding. Yes, just rub a wet cloth in place of natural wear on the desk. Then you need to seal with wax or varnish. Since this is a desk, I would recommend a varnish for a more durable finish. If you use things from the hardware store be careful not to buy a finish that will make your desk yellow ( in case you paint white).
Using Cece Caldwell’s Paints it would take an afternoon to get it all done! No mess or fumes!
Enjoy it!