Desk Job

I've been on a desk quest. Our guest room, already a hodge-podge of things that I love but don't have room for, was home to the world's biggest, ugliest corner desk. It was a hulking laminate monstrosity left by the previous owners. At the time, we appreciated it. We intended to use that room as an office, and even though the desk was ugly, it gave us lots of working space. However, the desk in the kitchen became our center of family computer activity, and that's worked out much better because I can keep an eye on what the kids are doing online. So, our intended office has evolved into a guest room/refuge for whichever spouse is kept awake by the other's snoring.

It's also home to my collection of dollhouses, and all the cool concert posters we've finally started collecting. A few months ago we added a twin bed with some fabulously funky bedding, and furnished it with some great pieces and art that just didn't fit anywhere else. But still, that massive corner desk lurked, taking up way too much space in that room. Since I was finally ready to pick a paint color and tackle the weird, glossy white paint in that room, the ugly desk had to go. It freed up a ton of space, but we still needed something- hence the desk quest.

I was not looking to spend too much money, so I decided to hit up my favorites, Goodwill and Habitat Re-Store. Goodwill was a bust, but Re-store had this interesting little piece.

What is that? Linoleum? Contact paper??

It was in rough shape, but it had promise. After haggling the originally proposed $30 price down to $15, it was mine. I also found this great chair and didn't even argue the $20 price tag because it was totally fair.

As soon as I got home, I got started on the make-over. My minions helped me scrap the weird wood-look linoleum off the top.

He was much happier to help than he looks. 

He's giving you his best Blue Steel. 

Even bare plywood beats woodgrain linoleum!

On closer inspection, I realized this desk is totally a homemade, scrap wood desk that some daddy or grandaddy made for a little girl. April Nicole Edwards to be exact. According to her under-desk graffiti, she loves N-Sync, 98*, and Jesus. I hope she did, in fact, have a wonderful summer.

 A coat of primer and fabulous peacock blue/teal (Jade Garden by Benjamin Moore) made it awesome, but it still wasn't quite glam enough. I am crazy about anything with Indian flair. Bring on the gold, mirrored bits, or sari prints. I got the "Ali Baba" Folk Art stencil and some gold paint and went to town. It was easy, but very, very tedious. But in the end, it was worth it because look at this fancy thing!!! 

Gorgeous, right? And the whole project took about four hours. So that's a pretty quick makeover. The chair was in such good shape that I didn't have to do anything other than recover the seat with a lovely brocade.

 I didn't want to paint the chair because it's a totally decent piece, and I like the eclectic look of pairing them this way rather than making them matchy-matchy. The trim on the chair complements the trim on the desk, and the brocade picks up some of that beautiful teal.

And it's the perfect partner for this colorful bed. Stay tuned for the guest room reveal once I get it painted next week. Which color did I choose?? Neither of those!

And I hope all you wonderful moms have the best Mother's Day!! I will be spending it with my fantastically fabulous mom, and my two awesome sisters, so it's bound to be a good one. Now if I can just convince my husband and kids to shower me with gifts and do all the chores, I'll be in business!