This French Provincial desk was so much fun to restore and paint! My friend gave me an inspiration picture she had found on Pinterest…
She wanted me to try and achieve this look with a desk that she had had for years but never got around to doing anything with.
I decided to strip the old paint off the fronts of the drawers, and I used Citristrip and sanded them very well, however, the wood that was underneath was a kind of mish mash of different woods, so when I applied the stain, the coverage wasn’t very even. However, I really liked the drawers looking so rustic and thankfully so did my friend!
The desk needed a few repairs, the biggest one was repairing one of the legs. Luckily, she had kept it so I just needed to glue and clamp for a couple of days to make sure it was properly secured.
I removed the hardware from the drawers and gave it a really good cleaning with TSP, which is a great all purpose cleaner. You can find this at any hardware store. Vinegar works very well too.
I applied 2-3 coats of Behr paint and primer in one in the color Gray Morning flat matte finish to give me that duck egg blue color. I sanded in between coats very well.
Because the top was going to get a lot of use, and it was a laminate, I used Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint in White Dove. I used a eggshell finish. First, I sanded well to get a bit of a tooth, then I applied Bin primer and then applied 3 coats of the paint. I finished by using Minwax polycrylic as well just in case. I don’t want that baby to chip!
I used acrylic paint Folk Art by Plaid in Wicker White to paint the foliage detail on both sides of the desk I did this freehand and just used a very fine brush to make some leaves with tendrils and vines.
I left the hardware alone and didn’t paint it. I liked the distressing that was already on there, and thought it went well with the rustic feel of the drawers.
I polyurethaned the entire piece with Minwax polycrylic except for the drawers which I used Johnson’s paste wax on.
My client is so happy with her new desk and I think I really nailed this one!
wild sparrow designs 
What a lovely piece! Thanks for sharing the paint colors. And i love the so pretty grain of the bare wood drawers. Would you tell how you repaired that front leg? I have a piece that was going to the dump b/c i can't figure out how to replace the large missing part on one leg. If you tell me how you did this one, maybe i can save the piece. I'm a new follower. Glad to meet you!
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HI Marje! I'm so glad you found my blog! Thank you and glad to meet you too! Thankfully, the customer had kept the pieces that were missing on this desk so all I had to do was really just glue them back on. I used a wood filler to fill in any gaps, and then sanded and painted it to match the rest of the piece. You could try making a mold of the piece that's missing on your piece and use a Bondo type product to Fill in the mold and then attach it to your piece. Hope that helps!
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So pretty! You nailed it!
The furniture style is complemented by the colors you chose. Glad you kept the hardware, too.
I wonder how this technique would look on a colonial pine bedroom set that I’m dying to change.
It even has the round wooden knobs, which I thought I may change out for porcelain, or decoupage over with an antique knob pattern.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks!
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Thank you so much Ellen! I bet it would look amazing! I love the idea of decoupaging the knobs! Good luck!
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The leaves on the side are a very nice touch, well done. I understand why your client is happy it looks so pretty!
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Oh Joan! Thanks so much for your kind words! She’s thrilled!
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I have a dresser (1970’s era) I’d like to finish like this. Did you strip the drawer fronts then stain or is there something out there so as to bypass the stripping.
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Hi Jan! Yes, I used stripper to strip all the paint off the drawer fronts, then sanded with my palm sander any remaining residue. I used wood conditioner and then stain to finish. Followed by a wipe on polyurethane.
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I really like what you did for this project! It’s beautiful. I only wish you had posted a top down picture view with the white top showing. I wanted to ‘Pin’ it for future reference on a similar project for myself.
I’m very new to the world of furniture refurbishing and looking at every project I can find online.
I think you did an awesome job on that piece.
ns
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This is incredibly gorgeous !!! You are a fabulous artist.
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You’re so sweet Cherie! Thanks so much!
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You sure did nail it! I just retired after 47 years of selling high end furniture to the best stores in Canada and I would be proud to sell that to my best dealers. I love the outcome especially the care that you put into the finish. I was told by a old timer in the furniture business many years ago that furniture was 1 part design and 3 parts finish. Well done!
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Bill I am honored! Thank you so much for your lovely compliment! Yes! I agree! The prep and finish are paramount! A little creativity helps too☺️👍🏻happy Thanksgiving!
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