How to Distress a Desk in the 21st Century

When I first moved into my house I bought a standard office furniture set that could be found at most Supersize Mega Furniture Store. Over the last two decades the desk has moved around my home, but about seven years ago it came to it’s final resting place in my craft room. I have gotten so much use out of it over the years. It is sturdy and huge with lots of space to work. The only thing I did not like about it was the dark wood. My craft room is a hodge podge of bright colors with a cheery disposition.  After a few months of thought and research I decided it was time to update it.

This is what I started with:

Not only did I want to change the color, I also wanted to clean and cover many of the paint and mist spots I had on it from creating. I wanted to go with a color that would benefit from my mess — add character. I gave it a good cleaning and tried to remove as much of the dried on glue as I possible. I then had my boys cover my work area with a large plastic tarp.

I decided to first paint the desk in Ivory followed by Jade . I purchased two jars of it.

I was skeptical when the instructions stated the desk did not need to be prepped. I just needed to make sure it was free from dust. However, not only did the Ivory paint go on beautifully, it dried fast! I did let it set over night before I applied the Jade just to be on the safe side, but it was unnecessary.

I painted the Jade over the white.

I used Painter’s Tape to tape around my knobs as to not get paint on those.
I wanted to replace them, but they ended up being to cumbersome to remove.

The Jade dried as fast as the Ivory.

I took a piece of sandpaper to distress the edges and let the white show through.
However, I did not finish it because this is my craft desk and it would distress, scratch and ding up in time with as hard as I am on it.

I was able to move my supplies back on my desk rather quickly after applying the paint.

I am so pleased with how it turned out.
It really makes the desk pop and brings a smile to my face every time I walk into the room.

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Betz Golden

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