Believe it or not, I only paid $19.99 for this solid maple desk. I started imagining how it could look as soon as I laid eyes on it.My husband Trevor knew what I was thinking so he said,"O.K., but it's going to be interesting getting it home."
So off we went and spent the next hour trying to secure it to the top of our Pontiac Sunfire. That was really fun. Ha ha!
I will now take you on a visual journey of the different steps I took to get from BLAND to VIBRANT VINTAGE HAND PAINTED DESK.
Photo #1 is the way the desk looked when I found it at a local second-hand shop. The dimensions are 41.5" Long X 30" Tall X 20.5" Deep.
Photo #2 shows the process of stripping (all by hand). I don't have anything against commercial paint strippers, I just didn't have any at the time. Notice also that I removed the antique handle face plates and just used the circular pulls.
Center inlay and the fantasy wood diamond (All created with paint). The last 4 images in Photo #2 are of the faux marquetry border and the faux burl wood rectangular inlay.
Here is a closer look at the fantasy wood. Quite a few colours went into creating it.
NOTE: In order to prevent the paint from bleeding, use a scalpel (or other sharp knife) to score the edges of your border and all of the lines inside that will be different colours. Look to the photo below for a visual example. Each black line has been scored to prevent the colours from bleeding.
The panels have now been primed and are ready for the drawings.
As you can see, I am inspired by old vintage ads and I especially like the VERY colourful Art Deco style.
PRIMO: A really cute candy ad. Original by artist Jacques Bellanger
VEGETALINE: A cooking fat that is better than butter. A Giclee print
This set of before and after pictures is obviously of EIFFEL TOWER LEMONADE. Artist unknown
This set of before and after pictures is my version of BIG PATCH Brand Selected Vegetables. Giclee Print
the next few pictures are of the completed project. As you can see, my signature is on the inside left panel.
NOTE: behind the middle drawer I also included the original artists for the posters.
The final step was to coat the entire piece with 10 coats of acrylic HIGH GLOSS varathane. (Diamond Finish Waterborn Varathane)
