Home Office Makeover
Thursday, July 23, 2015
I had a previous space for my office, but I felt cramped and uninspired. So I gathered a few pieces of furniture and decided to make a new space.
I've had the yellow hutch my entire life and before that it was my mother's when she was a little girl, so I knew I needed to find new life for it. And the desk I picked up from a garage sale. The desk is laminate wood and It had those infamous water bubbles, which didn't make a good working surface. I painted it this color previously to go in this room, but it was missing something.. AND now its beautiful! I love spending my time here, which makes me more productive!
This entire project cost about $30!
The Desk - I got a solid piece of wood from Home Depot for $15 - I didn't even had to cut it down, it fit perfectly. I sanded down the top of the desk to receive the piece of wood, applied wood glue and clamped it overnight.
The Stain - Minwax Classic Gray and Minwax Dark Walnut - about $6 each, I only needed the small cans. Instead of mixing the two together, I applied the Gray first, let it dry, then applied a thin layer of dark walnut and blended it into the wood. (I really scrubbed it in) Then let that dry.
What I learned about Staining - when you are applying a stain - forget the brush! I used old rags to soak the stain and rub it into the wood to really bring out the grain.
The Polyurethane Coat Finish - The polyurethane finish naturally causes the wood grain to rise out of the surface, causing it to feel sort of bumpy. I applied a 4 coats of polyurethane finish and then sanded with steel wool. The steel wool, as opposed to sand paper, lightly scratches off the bumpy-ness, leaving a perfectly smooth surface. Finish it with a wet rag and another coat of polyurethane!
The Hutch - I decided to paint the entire inside white and instead of using a solid white I really wanted a slightly off-white creamy color. I used American Decor Chalk Paint from Home Depot. I mixed Lace and Everlasting together to get the perfect color. I like chalk paint because it really does stick to anything! And because this piece was old, It was so hard to sand, I did sand it a good bit to rough it up. Because I already painted the desk I need a perfectly matching color. So, I used the chalk paint as a base, and then painted a Behr flat paint onto of that to match the desk.
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| Living Room |
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| Before |
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| Such a sad space... |
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