Another piece of furniture given to me. I love when that happens. Street piece or given piece, always a treasure.
This small secretary desk was a perfect size for my playroom that all the nieces and nephews visit, so I decided to keep it. I wanted a soft color and chose SILK Cactus, by Dixie Belle Paint. The Silk line has a built-in primer and top coat. Some step saving paint, right there. Isn’t it sweet?
DESK DIY MAKEOVER
This is a nice size and ideal for the kids to draw and store their favorite crayons and coloring books.
This is what it looked like before. Not so bad, but dark and not really my style.
Secretary Desk Makeover
It’s in good condition, but ready for an update.
I started by cleaning this with White Lightning by Dixie Belle to rid of any dirt, and then scuff sanded with a 220 grit sanding pad, cleaning that dust off with a clean damp rag. (I’ve listed my materials used, below.) I also used Krud Kutter to remove any leftover gunk and prep my piece for good adhesion of the paint. (I like to double up and on cleaning on some pieces, this was one of them.) You don’t even have to rinse it off. Bonus.
This was a nice-n-quick transformation. Clean it up and paint. Sometimes you need that easy piece after a tough project or one that’s taking a long time.
I thought it looked a little boring with just being the Cactus color, so I decided to dress it up a little with a Wood-U-Bend butterfly.
These lightweight mouldings can be moulded to any contour, with the help of a little heat from a simple hair dryer or heat gun. They have all the properties of wood, so they can be drilled, stained, painted, sanded, and varnished.
You would heat the mould piece prior to applying to your surface. Put your glue on the back once warm, I use Titebond glue. Place in position and wipe around your mould removing the excess glue and put more heat on it. It adheres great!
Once your Wood-U-Bend is dry, start painting. It’s as simple as that. We like simple, am I right!
Once I finished painting the entire piece, along with the butterfly mould, I decided to add a little Golden Gem Mousse to the butterfly, accentuate some details and the hardware.
Easy DIY Secretart Makeover
The Gemstone Golden Mousse works great for any project. No need to apply a topcoat to it either. The Silk Cactus by Dixie Belle has the primer and top coat all-in-one, and it leaves a nice subtle satin finish. Look how smooth the silk paint goes on. You can see another Silk painted project here.
Materials and tools used for this project:
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So this desk is aunt made, nephew approved! 😊 Let me know if you like it, in the comments below!
Wendy 🌸
“I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares!” – Saul Bass
