Vintage Desk Makeover

Around Christmas I mentioned I was refinishing a Vintage School Desk for my sweet little Bella. 

Bella absolutely loves coloring, drawing, and writing notes. She is for sure my mini me. She could spend an entire day crafting up some amazing goodies. Hence the reason for the Arts & Crafts Birthday Party. (You can read all about that here) Since another similarity between us both is that we aren't the best at sharing, I figured it was about time she had her own craft desk. 

I found this awesome "old school" desk on Craigslist for a steal, only $30. 

It was a little different then all of the others I had seen because not only does the top open to store stuff but it can also tilt up like an easel, which is perfect for Bella. 

The first thing we did was pick a paint for the metal finish. We decided to go with a Hammered finish because of some minor rusting and to help cover the imperfections on the metal. I let Bella pick and she went with the blueish color on the left. I love it! 

After we had the metal spray painted the pretty blue we got to work on the wooden top and seat. I used my absolute favorite Howard Citrus Shield Paste Wax in Dark Oak to get a beautiful finish on the wood. If you hate using stains like I do, then this is a must have. When we were sanding we were careful to get off all of the writing (not all of it was the nicest words) but I wanted to leave some of the imperfections to show the age of the piece. I know most people would have sanded deeper for a more "perfect" finish but I really love it just the way it is. 

(don't you just love my "glove") 

After I finished up waxing the wood I stenciled the top for a more personal touch. 

Again I wanted didn't want it to be too "perfect" so I did a little finish sanding over top of the stenciled paint and then applied another coat of the citrus shield wax to give the painted area a little aged look.

I love how the desk turned out. To me the imperfections are what make it perfect! 

Bella could not be more excited that she has her very own desk. She wasted no time filling it with markers, crayons, paper, scissors, and tons of other crafting goodies. 

I really love how the wax settled in the wood grain over the paint.

I can imagine this being a special piece passed down for generations to come. 

One of my favorite spots is the front lip of the desk top. I thought for a second about using wood filler on the holes but just couldn't do it. I can remember being a kid and poking my pencil into the front of my desk during class... mainly from boredom. I'm sure we have all done it and I'm sure Bella will do the same someday too. I'm sure the number of holes will only increase in the future:) 

So what do you think? Did you use a desk like this when you were in school? 

xoxo 

Shannon