I could probably go on and on about much I love Grand Rapids. But that's not really the point of this post. I am very excited to show you this project I have finally finished- a desk made right here in Grand Rapids!
This desk was posted on Craigslist as "make an offer." It looked like it needed a lot of work, but I fell in love with the curves and emailed the owner. "Make an offer" quickly became "first person to pick it up," which fortunately my dad was around and went with me to get it right then. Here it was:
It had been painted before and was being used as a workbench, so it was pretty beat up and had an odd piece of laminate on the top. But, it was super sturdy, solid wood and had gorgeous detailing. Even better- it was made right here in Grand Rapids!
I think my dad loved it even more than I did. He almost insisted on keeping it to refinish himself with stain, but I said it was probably too rough to be stained properly. Plus, I was really looking forward to seeing my favorite color of the moment, Arrowroot by Martha Stewart, on this fabulous find.
The first thing I tried to do was remove the laminate top. I've removed laminate from my bathroom before and it was easy to do by using an iron to heat it so the glue melts and releases the bond. I heated this thing up a LOT, and the laminate was not budging. I ended up having to give up and decided to paint over the laminate. I sanded it down well to make sure to have a good surface to hold the primer and paint. I had a lot of holes to fill and a couple corners to shape before it was ready to be painted.
So far, every piece I have painted had a very smooth finish and I haven't experimented with any distressing or glazing. I am such a perfectionist and prefer the finish to be absolutely smooth, clean and, well, perfect. I do like how furniture looks distressed and glazed, but I just wasn't confident that I could do it and be happy with it.
After I painted this desk, it was screaming for some sort of other treatment. It had gorgeous detailing and carving in it, and the paint really hid the beauty of those features.
The desk sat there probably two weeks while I debated what else to do with it. Decisions, decisions.
Finally I tried glazing. I did some research online and thought it looked pretty simple and would really bring out the detail. So I headed to Home Depot and got some brown-tinted glaze. I went to work painting it on, waiting a few minutes, and wiping it off just like the directions said.
I hated it.
To me it just looked dirty. Like dirt just smeared onto it. I hated how the glazing wasn't exactly even. I know that's the point, you want it to look natural, but it just wasn't right to me. So, I painted over the glaze and the desk sat for another two weeks while I debated trying distressing or just leaving it painted smooth. Finally I decided I may as well try it, and can always paint over it if I need to.
I LOVED IT!!
I only distressed a little bit around the edges, leaving the top, sides and drawer fronts smooth. I really like it like this. I spray painted the stunning hardware Champagne to lighten it up and really bring out how beautiful it is.
Without further ado, here are the after pictures you've been waiting for:
Love that hardware!
And here is the picture of the inside of the top drawer, where the manufacturer is not just stamped in, but there are actually two metal plaques screwed in declaring it "True Grand Rapids." Home sweet home.
This is definitely my favorite piece so far. I am contemplating painting one of our spare rooms and creating a spot just for this desk. But if I did that with everything, my house would be overrun with furniture (much like my garage right now.) Either way, I love that this gorgeous piece will be loved and treasured by whoever ends up owning it. They truly don't make them like this anymore!
I can't resist giving you a sneak peek of my next project! Post coming soon.
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