Crafty?!?! Me?!?!?!

We have this old desk. It was passed to us from Hank's side of the family.

We were using it as a computer desk in Alabama, and had it in our guest room when we first moved here. But when we started doing our hallway bathroom make-over... which bled over to a guest room make-over, I started thinking about what I could do with this old desk.

It is weathered, to be kind. It has dents and scars, marker and pen marks, old sticker residue, and cup rings in the finish.

So I got to thinking... how could I re purpose this?? I liked the idea of keeping it in our family, but it was in need of a definite face lift.

So I started off by sanding it and priming it.

Then I treated it with Weathered Wood to get a crackled effect.

And while all that dried, Hank and I hit a few yard sales to 'dress' it!

Okay, I admit, I found more than I needed, and walked away from several sales with things not related to this project, but it was a fun time with just me and Hankie... I just love this man.

So here is the finished product. The top of it has been redecorated several hundred times now... I mean, this picture was taken yesterday, and already I have different items on it! One of them is a lamp I got at a yard sale. We put the desk in our super huge and open foyer. A friend of mine suggested we use it there, and I liked the idea of using an unusual piece of furniture there. She also suggested the basket under it. That will be used for shoes and umbrellas and such.



The candy dish is an antique, I think. I picked it up at a yard sale for $2 from a little old lady who told me that it belonged to her mother and she remembered it from her childhood. The books I picked up at several different yard sales for dollars each. They are all published anywhere from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The picture frame is actually a thick framed mirror from IKEA. I had 3 hanging in the kitchen that I had painted green and had cut a picture to fit it. I pulled one down, crackled finished it, and painted over it in off whtie. I really liked the finished product and decided to hang it over the desk.

We also lucked up on some quality fabrics at one of the yard sales... a tapestry type and a silk. We are gonna use one to make panels for the front door and maybe the other to make a runner for the desk to add some more color and who knows what else!