Grey Desk

I have an extremely soft spot for desks. Especially all solid wood desks. I feel they are so versatile. You could put them in a living room, bedroom, entry way, etc. I also love to find a unique, fun chair to upholster to match my vision for the desk as well. They are also fairly easy for me to carry and transport by myself compared to a huge, heavy dresser.

I came across this cute desk at the local Goodwill. It was a great price and from what I could tell it was solid wood underneath the paint. I completely sanded down the top of the desk and it was solid wood! I wish I would have taken more pictures of the beautiful grain it had. I used my favorite General Finishes Java gel stain (one coat) and sealed it with Varathane Polyurethane 3X in gloss. For polyurethane, I apply the first coat with a foam brush and let it completely dry. I sand it lightly with 220 grit sand paper and then continually apply more coats until I am happy with how it looks.

Since this was already painted, I lightly sanded with my Ryobi orbital sander with 150 grit to lightly rough the surface so my new paint would stick. For my paint choice, I went with Behr's Orion Gray in flat and mixed up my own chalk paint with Plaster of Paris. I loved how the color contrasted with the wood top. I then sealed the entire desk with furniture wax. I apply it with no-lint clothes.

Next was the chair. I painted the frame and selected this fabric from Jo-Ann's for the seat and sealed that in wax as well. The colors in the fabric appealed to me the most and I love the fun shapes.

I couldn't believe how fast this desk sold on a local Facebook group. It was picked up in about 12 hours from when I listed it. Most of my staging items have come from local antique stores and auctions. One of my goals with staging is to try to have a piece that matches the hardware. The cast iron piece in the center of the desk is my absolute favorite staging item that I got from an auction. I always feel that I could improve my staging and maybe add more around my piece. What are your thoughts on it?

Thanks for reading,

Shayla Martin

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