Thrifted Desk Makeover

A few months ago, our search for a small desk for my daughter's room finally ended - and it was totally worth it. We found this cute little desk at a Goodwill nearby for $25. I first talked about it here.

It was still in pretty good shape minus a broken handle and some water stains on top. But those can be fixed easily. So, I brought it home and got busy cleaning it. {Think lots of cobwebs and dust.}

I took the drawers out and cleaned every inch. I used Dawn dishsoap and warm water to clean this desk because it was mostly surface dirty - no greasy stains or anything too hard. Then, I let it dry out.

When it was time to sand, I used a handheld electric sander for the big, flat pieces like the top and sides. And for the details and smaller pieces and corners, I used sandpaper - a pretty rough grit because the finish was kind of thick. Sand until smooth. Then, use tacky cloth (buy at Lowe's in the paint aisle) to remove any leftover dust from sanding.

Finally, it was time to paint. The Sherwin-Williams guy told me to use a foam roller for a smoother finish on the paint, so I did. I used a foam brush and/or regular paint brush to get into the details. It turned out really well.

I rubbed the dry finish with furniture wax by Minwax. It helps protect the surface and gives it a smooth finish.

Add the knobs and some drawer liners and you're done! I'm planning to buy a piece of glass for the desk top so that it will not be marked on or scratched.

Tools I used for this project:
Orbital Sander - 50% off right now!
Tack Cloth
Sandpaper
Foam Roller
Any Paintbrush
Minwax Finishing Paste
Sherwin-Williams "Gris"

*Some of these are affiliate links. Others I just wanted to pass along to you. All opinions are my own.

Thanks for stopping by!