Old Desk gets New Life!

As I was browsing Goodwill I came across this Amazing piece!  I'm sure many people passed it by, not knowing what it was.  But the moment I saw her I knew EXACTLY what she was, and I snatched her up and brought her home! 

 Its the top to an old antique secretary desk.  

The poor thing had her legs removed!  So sad! But all of her hardware was intact,

and when I opened her up she was so smooth...almost perfect!  

Her wood was a little beat up, but thats about it!

I paid $15 for her!

But before i could begin transforming her, I had to get her some new legs. She was built with square shaped legs, so I went to Home Depot and picked these up for about $10 each.

I used long screws and large washers to attach them. 

(they fit perfectly where her other legs were removed)

I painted her with my chalk paint in Valspar's Polar White (yes, I use this ALL the time!)

After I sanded her, I thought it would be really fun to add some stenciling to her front.

I got this stencil at Hobby Lobby, but didn't follow the directions! ha

I just taped it on, used a normal foam brush, and dabbed on the paint.  I used acrylic paint (basil green)

After stenciling, I took sandpaper and lightly went over where I had stenciled.

I glazed her after I stenciled so the glaze would go over the stencil too.  I chose Martha's Metallic Glaze for this piece

And here's why:

This particular glaze really "sticks" to the places that have been sanded and darkens them up really good!  Because this piece had a dark finish, and I added light unfinished legs, I wanted to make sure the  piece would look uniform when complete.

 You can see in this picture how the edges of the leg darkened enought to match the original top piece:

 Here she is all finished!

I used her original hardware because I think its beautiful!

Total cost for her: $55

Now I just need to find a spot for her!

Party Links:

Not Just a Housewife: Show Me What Ya Got
Domestically Speaking: PoP Party
Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
Start at Home: Paint Party
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
Love of Family and Home: Inspire Me Please
The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday

Funky Junk Interiors: Party Junk

Thrifty Decor Chick