Secretary Desk before and after

I found this secretary desk on our local classifieds (ksl.com) and when I first saw it, it was $75. Well, I waited a week, and saw it go down to $60, then to $50. Finally it went to $30, and I offered her $20 and she said "SOLD!" So I picked up this little beauty to try my hand at refinishing furniture. After I picked it up, it sat in my family room for a good 2 months, before my husband said "no more projects until you finish that desk." and he said it with his serious voice, so I got to work (because I have many more projects to do).

As clear as I can remember, this is my first sand -it-down-refinish-and seal-it kind of project. I really wanted it to turn out well, so I tried to do it the right way. Let me tell you, It took a few tries to get it right. First, I tried just painting it cream, without priming it. That was lesson #1. So after 2 coats of paint, then 2 coats of primer, (i know, but I didn't feel like sanding the paint off) I did 2 more coats of paint. I kind of wanted an antique, distressed looking piece so I tried rubbing a stain on the whole thing. This I did not like. So I sanded the stain off and did yet another coat of the cream/ivory color. finally, after letting it dry, I sprayed a coat of polyurethane to seal it all.

(I realize this picture is awful, I'm going to take some photography classes to learn how to take gorgeous pictures)

I wanted some fancy on the inside, so I decided to mod podge some fancy, vintage looking paper on the inside. My brother-in-law Josh helped me with this part, mostly because he's super nice and he can't say no to me.

So that's my secretary desk revamp. Not too shabby for my first time. I loved doing it, and I have now learned things I should have done differently, so I will know what to do for next time.

I really love the cream and black look, and think i'll probably put it in my girl's room, as it will go with the vintage theme in there. plus Lauren thinks it is the best thing ever to have a desk in her room.