Farmhouse Desk

This old sturdy desk has been on my 'sprucin' up' list for quite some time. It's a piece that I cherish because it was given to me by an old family friend who is no longer with us. I could never part with it but she needed some fine tuning. When I was in my teenage years, I nothing short of carved (turns out permanent marker does just as much damage as a pocket knife) the names of all my 'sweethearts' all over the top. When I finally grew out of that stage (thank the Good Lord) I painted her white.

I got to work sanding the top piece to ditch all the white paint & years of true love markings.

I picked out an espresso stain - it said 'new' so I figured I had to give it a try. I usually use a walnut stain - which I will likely stick with in the future because only one coat of the espresso & it was still a bit darker than I desired. After the stain dried for an entire day, I sealed it with a layer of polyurethane clear coat. 

The bottom of the desk got another two layers of white paint. I debated sanding it all down & starting fresh, but aside from a few chips the existing paint really wasn't too bad. I would love to do something unique with the handles - thinking some rustic horse shoe pulls - but those are on standby until I commit to an idea I love.

Stay tuned for the 'after' ...