From old to new

Project Parade!! :D

 Check out all of the other great things going on this friday!

Also linking up to the Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday party! :D

I decided that since I am nowhere near ready to share my office with you all because it is still in the beginning hideous stages due to my crazy work load that I would at least share with you my desk transformation.

I started out with this bad boy (for free courtesy of my wonderful Grandma).

(BTW I am quite horrified to show you this photo because you get a slight glimpse of the GIANT mess that was my garage at the time this photo was taken-everyone's garage is messy right?)

This desk was a LONG process indeed. 

First, I sanded. I think I went through at least 10 pieces of sandpaper for my little hand-sander if not more.

Then I cleaned it all of with a damp cloth.

Then, I brushed on some of this:

That was quite a task also. I made sure to give it an extra good coat and I spent a lot of time cramped in some pretty tight spaces in my garage trying to get every nook and cranny!

Then I painted a coat of Valspars Fired Earth immediately after the primer dried about a week later when I got some extra time :D

The weekend after I painted the desk my wonderful hubs helped me and painted it with polyurethane. I was so happy to see the sun so that we could paint that vile smelly stuff outside. It had been dark and gloomy for weeks! A little later I also had to drill a hole into the center top of the desk for my computer wires and cables to go through.

I thought she was done....and I was wrong.

I loaded this baby into my suburban-by myself. Yes, that's right. I am a crazy woman. This is an old desk and let me tell you it is SOLID and HEAVY! But, as solid and heavy as this desk is-I am 10 times more stubborn. I was ready to get it up to work and in my new office pronto and I wasn't willing to wait for my hubs to do it for me either. I almost gave up trying to get it into the car because the desk not only has the four outside legs that I had to hurdle over the edge of the car, it has two in the middle underneath and I just about snapped those puppies off trying to wedge this thing in the back! :D

Anyway enough about that. I got the desk to work and maybe it was just the fluorescent lighting, but my desk literally looked like greenish brown poo. Sorry for the nasty analogy, but I don't think anything else would do it justice. 

I was devastated. ALL my hard work for nothing! So I set out to the paint store for some new paint and I am so glad I went to the experts! Don't get me wrong I love Home Depot and Lowe's for their variety, but for something like this I needed some direction. 

I wen to one of my local specialty paint stores and the man behind the counter is a miracle worker. He told me I was crazy for all the work I did and that I didn't need to use polyurethane at all and that oil based paint would be perfectly fine (I was worried about the paint sticking because the top of the desk is Formica). I took him one of the shelves from my new office bookcases (more to come on those later) and he created an oil based paint to match the stain of the shelf perfectly!

He also told me to use these when painting furniture instead of a brush:

I thought he was nuts, but I did as he said and let me tell you people I won't ever brush again! I sanded the desk again, but just lightly this time and when time came to paint the foam brush worked perfectly with the oil based paint and when I was done I had no problem just tossing it out since it was less than $1. That means no cleaning paint from brushes! Whoo hoo!

So, I know you are most likely bored out of your mind right now if you are even still reading so here are the after shots for you:

She's not perfect, but she's still a beauty!

Now if only I could get the drawers to come out without cursing and jerking the desk so wildly my lamp nearly falls over I'd be great. : )

OH and PS- I spray painted the hardware with Rustoleum's Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze-my fave! 

I may have left something out and if I did I apologize-life is bananas right now and my brain is on overload if you couldn't already tell from my ramblings!

So what do you think of the change?