Going BOLD feels good.

So, the desk...the red desk.  Red Delicious to be exact.  It's finally done.  Here are the steps I took to breath some new life into this old beauty.  For upcoming projects, I am going to try to make more of an effort to document the whole process with pics...

As a reminder, here is the 'before' picture:

1.  Removed the hardware and cleaned it using salt and vinegar - a suggestion that I learned about from Jenny's blog, Little Green Notebook.  Here is a before shot...this brass needed some serious TLC.

Before...

After...

2.  Sanded the desk down by hand.  I just used very fine paper b/c that was all I had.
3.  Used wood glue to fix a few spots on the top of the desk where the veneer was pulling up.
4.  Primed the desk - LESSON LEARNED:  Use tinted primer next time when painting something a bold color.

I made sure to get a pic of it primed so that I could remember what it looks like while it is white for the inevitable day when I decide going bold no longer feels good :).  (hopefully this is many years down the road!)

5.  Then I painted.  A lot.  It took 4.5 coats to make sure the primer was really covered and the red was truly Red Delicious.  Next time, tinted primer.

6.  We moved the desk into our bedroom before the girls' weekend.  Being a person of immediate gratification, I wanted it to look presentable when they got here.  I thought it was dry...or maybe I just made myself *think* that it was dry, so I put some stuff on top of the desk while it was clearly NOT dry.  Whoops.  You would think I would know better...since I don't though, I had to go back and do another coat of paint on the top.

7.  I wasn't sure of the best way to apply the Wipe On Poly.  I was worried that if I sanded the desk before applying, I might lose the glossy look.  But, I ended up sanding it with very fine (220) sandpaper.  I sanded too hard and got down to the white primer...boo.  So I had to repaint a few areas.  I then applied two coats of Wipe On Poly, and I did not sand in between coats.

8.  I made 12 color copies of a pretty Paper Source Japanese paper as I thought it would make good drawer liners.  I always want to have pretty drawer liners as I know they would make me so happy, but I am always too lazy/cheap to do it.  I really love the pop of light blue and pink, red and white flowering branches whenever opening a drawer!  Mental note:  Do this more often.

The finished product...

 

 

In an effort to not be as rushed this time, I made sure that nothing was on the desk before I left for Chicago, so it can dry for a full week!

Now, I just need a chair....