Vintage Bamboo Desk Makeover

Many of you may not be aware, but there are some grumpy people out there. No really, it’s true.

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No matter what industry you work in, you’ll find grumpy people. At least that’s my suspicion. Home bloggers encounter them, too. There’s a particularly vocal subset of grumpy people for us. They are the furniture purists.

The furniture purists don’t want ANYTHING changed. Upholstered chair from 1932 that smells like a cross between a tobacco barn and wet dog? DON’T REUPHOLSTER IT! A table missing a leg, an armoire missing an arm, a three poster bed, a room with paneling as far as the eye can see….DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH ANY OF IT!

Change does not suit these folks, one bit. Just switching out drawer hardware is punishable by a zealous keyboard firing squad. And because of these reactions, there are a few things that home bloggers shy away from discussing:

1. politics

2. religion

3. painting furniture

Well, call me an idiot. Call me crazy. Call me a rebel with a bamboo desk cause, but this desk here? It’s getting…

PAINTED.

There, I said it. LOUD AND PROUD, people.

First up, the hardware. I gave it a good cleaning, then sprayed it with my fave gold paint. It’s a great color. Next up, prepping for paint.

If I would have painted this desk with chalk paint, then this prep could have been avoided. But I really wanted a pretty glossy finish for this piece. It just seemed a better fit for the desk. So I gave the top a light sanding, then got rid of the dust with a damp cloth, followed up by a tack cloth to really make sure all the dust was gone.

Ben Moore Razzle Dazzle was chosen for the paint color. In a semi-gloss sheen (if you have questions about selecting the right sheen for a paint project, check out THIS POST).

Here goes nothing. This is the point where those furniture purists are biting their nails, rocking in a corner finding their happy place, etc…

And if they weren’t verklempt enough, wait til they see this…

The original piece was about 12″ too large for the available space, so we needed to amputate it. After the major surgery, I just had some minor plastic surgery to do with wood filler and sandpaper.

And now, I gotta say, I think she’s pretty in pink. We’re in the third week of this six week one room challenge stretch, trying to finish our daughter’s room. I finished this uber inexpensive storage ottoman/desk chair this week too, but more on that later. By next week, I hope to have some roman shades made.

Wish me luck…I have NO idea what I’m doing. But I like to walk on the wild side 😉