Junky To Funky....

[mmhmm]

That looks really nice, steff. Quite an improvement! 

[steff]

After I got the 2nd barstool done, I kinda got too high on paint fumes & started painting other stuff.


Before:



After:




and I'm too lazy right now to take one that isn't blurry, so here's blurry...

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Your stools turned out beautifully! What a difference - now they're so bright & cheerful looking - and that little table matches them perfectly!

Great Job !

[steff]

Unfinished, the end table looked awful sitting between the 2 stools, so I just "had" to fix that.  lol 

But now I'm ready to tackle the big antique desk.  I've been intimidated by it & now I'm ready.  Hopefully. lol

[Jaguar]

You do some really amazing creative work steff.

[steff]

I'm seriously intimidated by this desk.  I'm so scared that I'm going to mess it up & make it look bad.  I don't even know where to start on the damn thing.  There's so many drawers & nooks on the inside.  You can tell the wood was stained by dipping each piece before the desk was put together.  It's all tongue & groove construction too.  The drawers on the inside have held the original color & haven't faded.  So they are still nice & dark.  so do I stain the entire drawer or just the face/front?  I've gone thru all my other antiques with drawers, taking out the drawers, seeing what is stained/painted what isn't.  Hubby & Kiddo think I'm nuts.  I have 4 drawers from different items on my living room floor so I can get a really good look at them.  From my "in house" research, I should only stain the front of the drawers. 

And that doesn't even start with the fact that beyond the drawers, the actual desk is a 100 squares with 100 smaller squares with 100 even smaller squares.  I thought starting with the drawers would be the "easy" start...HA! 

And the hardware really can't be removed & then reused.  They are not screwed in, they are like an open brad (like folders have).  IF I could close the brads enough to remove the hardware, I don't think I could get them back open again...and I'm worried that if I start bending this metal that hasn't been bent in 100 years, I'm just asking for big trouble & broken hardware.  And I don't want to replace this hardware.  It's gorgeous & original to the desk.  And would cost me a small fortune to replace with anything comparable. 

I have managed to reattach the little strips of wood that had fallen off one drawer.  Went to an antique dude & got his advice.  gorilla glue...no seriously...gorilla glue.  Since there are almost no nails anywhere on the desk and since the strips that came off have no nail marks or staple marks, they were originally glued on, so reglue them I did. 

so I've cleaned the desk really good, sanded down the inside and a little bit of the large drawer fronts, reattached strips of wood to a large drawer, and looked at it in fear and intimidation a lot. 

I can remember this desk in my aunt's house for as long as I can remember.  When she offered it to me, I freaked out in happiness & got giddy at the idea of having it.  Now I'm scared to death of it.  lol 

[mmhmm]

Maybe you could ask your antique guy if he knows anyone who could give you advice on what to do about those oddly attached handles. I can sure understand not wanting to lose them! If the antique guy doesn't do the work, he just might know someone who does and would be able to advise you.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Steff, stripping the old finish of the desk is going to be a huge undertaking - if you haven't yet done that. Even stripping down the cabinet for my treadle Singer cabinet took FOR-EVER! And the knobs on it wouldn't come off either. I can't imagine tackling a job the size of your desk.

Is there a place in your area than can strip off the old finish for you? (They'd probably also be able remove the hardware, etc - that "might" have to be replaced - but there are some nice pieces of hardware/drawer pulls, hinges, etc that have an antique finish.

If you had the desk stain stripped off professionally you'd probably have an easier time re-staining the wood once it's done properly.

[Deleted]

It looks like a huge project but you seem like just the girl to do it, your other ones look great!

You can do it! It will cost you a small fortune to have someone do it for you.

[Deleted]

I love this thread!

[steff]

4 of the 6 inside drawers are now done.  took 2 days just to sand them down.  Including cutting little circles of sandpaper, attaching it with rubber bands to the eraser end of a pencil and getting into the little grooves with it. 

Now giving my hands a couple of days off, then I'll do the other 2 inside drawers.  My aunt has offered to come over & help me with sanding down the 3 big drawers.  so that will be next weeks goal. 

But so far, LOVE the way the drawers turned out. 

[Ombud]

The most ambitious I've ever gotten was to take an alley find of my Dad's, refinish & re-upholster it in a french blue silk. Dad insisted that I take it ... has memories.

There's an artist here who takes old desks and paints each drawer / leg / top a different color. Some with a pattern. Would like to find something to do that to. Should probably start small like with a wood lamp base. So maybe a trip to a thrift shop when I get back from Alaska. I'll have time, pending layoff

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

steff : I know your ultimate goal is to stain the desk with a dark stain, but have you considered a more natural stain (possibly in a satin finish (non-gloss) - to bring out the woodgrain and character of the piece? Something in a medium or golden oak stain, for example.

[steff]

The wood used to make the desk is black walnut, so it's naturally dark wood already.  There would really be no way for me to make it lighter in color without painting it.   the original stain on the desk was an almost black color it was so dark. 

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Even with black walnut, you should be able to bring out the natural grain of the wood to give it "character":

[steff]

Here are 2 of the drawers that are done.   They are sitting on top of the un-refinished/unsanded desk.

[steff]

Desk update:

all 6 of the small drawers are now done
all 3 of the large drawers are now done

tomorrow I'm having a 'Sanding party'.  My aunt & uncle are coming over & in exchange for dinner, we're all working on sanding the body of the desk. 

this could be done in a couple weeks! 

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Wow, you have a plan in place, and actual crew to help pitch in! I'm sure the end result will be well worth it. You will post pics once it's all sanded, stained, and re-assembled, right??

Can't wait to see it once it's all done.

[steff]

Hubby helped me strip & sand the 3 big drawers over the weekend & I stained them yesterday & today.  It went really quick with him helping.  My aunt loves this kinda stuff & she's the one who gave me the desk, so she's excited about seeing the desk redone.  it was easy to say I'll trade dinner for stripping & sanding help. She and my uncle were all over that deal. LOL

I plan on putting up pics once it's completely done.  piece by piece, I can see the difference, but the overall impact will be bigger when it's all done. 

[steff]

only 8 squares left to sand!   Then it will finally be ready to start staining!   I should be staining by next week! 

I'm damn near giddy.  lol

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

YAY steff !! You go girl!! It WILL get done !!

I was going to update this thread with more Junky/Funky ideas earlier this evening, (And probably still will very soon), but for now , I'll wait to hear the updates on the progress of your Desk from Dante's Inferno project.


.

[steff]

THE SANDING IS DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     I REPEAT...THE SANDING IS DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!



So, here's a "Before" after sanding




Also, you can see that the drapes in the window seat are what I matched the barstools with.  There's a 2 person drop leaf table actually sitting behind the desk in front of the window seat.  lol    Once the desk is complete, my desk/tv setup will be moved to in front of the window seat.  And you can see why I ALWAYS win the stereo competition in my house.  The 2nd "smaller" speaker is sitting in the window seat too. 

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Wow!! Just WOW!! That looks Mahhhvelous !!

(And to be perfectly honest, I actually like the lighter color MUCH better now that the dark stain has been stripped off.)

[mmhmm]

Looks great, steff!  Good work, girl! 

[steff]

Front of the desk is DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

WoW, steff - good job! That looks really nice ! !

I like it MUCH better than the original really dark color. You've given it "new life" !



.

[Jaguar]

Awesome work, gorgeous desk.

[steff]

I stopped for a minute to take a couple of pics in the day light.  At night that pics didn't seem to really show how different it really is.   Ignore the messy house please.    I'm 12 squares from being done.....

[mmhmm]

Lookin' good, steff. You're doing a great job!

[steff]

It is done!  

BEFORE:







AFTER:
(please ignore the electrical cords having an orgy)