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I saw this dusty old desk sitting on the curb in front of a neighbor’s house and knew I had to have it. This is my favorite kind of furniture flip because I just love saving a gem like this from going to the dump! With a little paint and some elbow grease, it can be a beautiful addition to someone’s home again.

There was one small spot where the veneer was loose and I had to glue it down again. Also, one of the front footboards had fallen off but luckily I found it stashed in one of the drawers and it only needed to be tacked on again. Other than that it was in great shape with all working drawers and only a couple of minor scratches.

I wanted to go with a two-toned approach on Marvin by sanding and re-staining the top and the drawer fronts and painting the rest of the desk in navy blue. I’m always leary of sanding veneer for fear of sanding right through it but the desktop was so beautiful I hated to cover it with paint. I carefully sanded it with fine-grit paper and luckily, it turned out great! After staining it, I sealed it with two coats of Clear Matte topcoat.

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The drawers have wooden pulls that are placed over a scooped-out design on the drawer front. To emphasize that design I chose to paint the round scooped-out area in navy blue and the wooden pulls with metallic gold. I painted the insides of the drawers in white to freshen them up.

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It always amazes me what a difference paint can make. By painting the base of the desk a contrasting color, the eyes are now drawn to the beautiful wood grain of the desktop. The wooden drawer handles were practically invisible on the drawers before but by painting them in Antique Gold they now shine like jewelry on the drawer. I just love how Marvin has transformed!

Products Used: Sherwin Williams – Anchors Aweigh, Dixie Belle Voodoo Gel Stain – Tobacco Road, Valspar – Pantone White Asparagus, Rustoleum spray paint – Vintage Gold, Rustoleum Chalked – Clear Matte.

Thanks for stopping by, let me know what you think of Marvin!