Dreary Desk- AKA my first sale!

Last summer I was on my way home from an estate sale with my decorating guru/coworker friend, Laura. She was shopping to furnish a home she and her husband had purchased. I was on the lookout for something to paint. I am always looking for a piece of furniture that is inexpensive but interesting. I'm still working on my painting "how to's", so price is important. We stopped about a mile from home at a garage sale, and there she was...

"before" garage sale desk

This desk had been in a garage a long time! It was a real mess but I loved it. It was finished on all four sides w interesting braided trim, and I loved the hardware.I spent a good bit of time cleaning and sanding this piece.Eventually I decided to paint it the color of silly putty and stain the top. I ended up painting the top black instead because the top was too far gone to refinish. I used 2 coats of my homemade chalk paint on the body and the top w sanding after each coat.I distressed the desk a good bit to try and disguise how beat up it was. I lined the drawers w pretty paper, I waxed the entire desk w Fiddes and Sons wax, and I sprayed the hardware w spray paint to finish it up.Here she is after many many hours of work:

I've had the desk in my garage for a few months trying to decide what to do with it.I decided it was time to pass it on and make room for another project. Plus it was in the way of my husband's roadbike. I listed it on craigslist. Ugh.  Craigslist is a story for another day...Anyway, a wonderful woman came over and bought it today saying those beautiful words , "it's just what I've been looking for." Aaahhh. Plus she gave me money. Not a lot, but more than I paid for the pleasure of painting it.I liked her so much that I threw in the ugly glossy red chair from my first post for free :) Yes,it was great to get some $$ for a piece of painted furniture.

Things I learned from the dreary desk:

• Learn to take better pictures!!
• look a piece over carefully before buying. This one was almost too far gone!
• craigslist buyers are very unreliable! My desk purchaser was an exception!