Later this morning with a friend, we went hunting for treasures at garage sales. Most garage sales were a let down except finding a hand saw for $1.50 which was what I exactly needed to do some "cheap" molding for my daughter's room. (Can't wait to post that one eventually!).
We stopped by a thrift store only to see that they closed down and moved. Near the trash, was a desk apparently thrown out. I looked at it quickly and told myself---nah its rotted wood. We drove away, went to Goodwill to scour more sales, but still nothing good. I could NOT get the desk out of my mind, mostly because this desk, aptly named "The Dude" sure had some sexy legs and shiny gold shoes. I love mid-century furniture and its style--something so iconic about it, minimal and clean.
I immediately knew I had to go back and get it. I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. Paint it for my son Zachary. He needed a desk for his room for his Legos and some open space for his drawings and what not. Since I am *ALSO* working on his room along with Hannah's. I decided to do his room in a minimalistic sporty style (if such phase exists). He already has a mid-century style night stand from another garage sale we got for $2.00 about a year ago.
So here's my Dude that I brought home. A big beefy guy. How can something so big have such delicate beautiful legs? You can't see in the photo, but there are two more little stout legs underneath the left base.
"The Dude"
Posing its muscles again
Now....here are the problems (which is why I dismissed the desk in the first place) but I felt so bad for him he had to come home with me. Pitiful, isn't it?
1) No drawers (not literally) Should I add some or figure out something creatively?
2) Top of the desk is a mess. (Peeling acne or dandruff?) Actually I think its glaze/varnish that turned yellow and probably ate through the wood. I still have to figure out HOW to fix this.
3) I took apart the desk as shown:
Here's my video---remember I'm not "DEAFinitely Chic" in this....so excuse my attire. :-) After all, getting ready to prime my Dude.
Materials I am using for this current project:
1)
Zinsser bulls eye 123 latex primer gallon
Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 Latex Primer Gallon for priming interior or exterior surfaces. Gallon size.
It dries VERY fast (within 30 minutes) that you can SAND and prime one more time if need be. I use a foam roller for even coating.
One gallon can can last for many projects!
*Great for flat surfaces and pretty much anything.
2)
For the circular legs, due to its shape, it was easier to just pick up a spray paint can of primer and spray. It's my first time using this type of product.
This really works! I really enjoyed using it and would DEAFinitely buy it again. It has my "chic" stamp of approval.
3) Medium size foam roller for the primer for more EVEN coating
4) Square block foam Sander (to smooth out primer after it dries)
5) A few cans of BLACK semi-gloss spray paint cans by Rust-Oleum. (I chose to do this rather than get black paint)
6) I used a cheap plastic spray gun attachment that you can attach to spray paint can and its so much easier on the hand to spray. No numb fingers!
WORTH $4-something. More even coat. Less splatters. Less splotches.
7) And of course....... my trusty tools! I love my power tools as much as a football fanatic loves his football team. My power screw driver and orbital sander got to play today! :-)
One of these days I will blog why I like spray paint over using latex paint. There are pros and cons. In the long run, it is A LOT easier to use spray paint and it dries faster and affords a more even coating.
Check back again for an update on this project. It could be the next posting or a few weeks down the road, but keep checking back. :-)
I'd love to hear your comments. Thinking of adding a stripe or two on top of the desk....or maybe something else? Any ideas?
~*DEAFinitely Chic*~
Julie Ann
