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I am happy to announce that I survived my first scout Court of Honor as Advancement Chair!

Yay me!
Well, I forgot 14 pins and a merit badge, plus didn’t have a treat for the Cracker Barrel, or whatever the heck they call refreshments but I did indeed survive. It was rough, but it’s done! Nowhere to go but up, right?

Now that I have dug myself out from the depths of Scoutbook hades, it’s time to finish up some fun projects. I thought I’d have a paintbrush in my hand, going to town on my rusty penny walls, but as usual, life popped up and bit me in the rear. On that note, the stomach bug going around right now is a real blast. Yuck. At least there was only 1 victim instead of 6. Knock on wood that it stays that way! Thankfully, the patient is on the mend and I was able to get some work done today.

One of those aforementioned projects I’ve been working on is an old banker’s desk that has been hanging out in my dining room for the past month and a half. This is a big grandpa, so taking good pics was pretty much impossible. I’ve been trying to get some decent photos for days, but I’m throwing in the towel and just going to use what I have. I can’t wait anymore, this old man is too darn handsome not to share!

So, without further ado…

When we moved into our house 5 years ago, I inherited a tired, sad, worn out old desk. My parents had closed down the warehouse at the store and this big dude needed a new home. He was built in the 1930’s of solid wood complete with dovetail fashioning and a hidden locking mechanism. He had lived most of his 80+ years on a farm down in the Spanish Fork area, then one day found himself in a floor coverings warehouse. He had been loved, used, and abused.

When he got to me, he was in rough shape but, being grateful to have something to write on, I didn’t mind.

Over the years, this old guy has had a few updates.

Beaded board was added to hide some of the holes, and then he was given a bright white coat of paint… everywhere.

Painting the top seemed like a lot less work than stripping and sanding the abused top so I went that route then I papered the drawers with some gift wrap I found at the grocery store.

After that, I stapled fabric around the inside of the bottom to hide all the ugly computer cords.

There was only one flaw in the makeover-

I couldn’t afford a piece of custom fit glass so I used 3 sheets of plexi-glass that I had bought from a big box. That plexi-glass became a trap for dust, dirt, crumbs, and general ugliness. I would take the plastic sheets off the top and scrub it with magic erasers, but it only got worse as the years went on. Looking back, I should have refinished the top or bit the bullet and bought the glass. A desk top gets so much wear and tear, y’all. Where was my brain? Oh yeah, it was doggy paddling to keep me above water with 4 tiny kids, a traveling husband, and a house payment!

I’d like to slap that girl.
Live and learn, right?

Over the years, along with the top, the papered drawers took a beating. Clearly, this big old guy needed some love.

On a whim, I rearranged my craft room and someday I’ll get around to posting the new set up. My hunky old desk was replaced with a dining room table and went to live in my garage until I could give him the pampering he deserved.

I got him all cleaned up, then stripped the paint from the top, patched holes, and gave him a good sanding. Then I wiped everything down and masked off the exposed wood so I could give the bottom a fresh coat of paint.

I had recently bought a container of BB Frosch Chalk Paint Powder, so I figured I’d give it a go.
I mixed the powder with some paint matched to Ben Moore’s Color of the Year, Simply White, and then went to work. I’m picky with my paint and was surprised to find that I really liked BB Frosch. To be honest, I was waiting for it to be gritty like all the DIY chalk paint recipes I’d tried before, but it was smooth, gave great coverage, and dried quickly. I give it 2 paintbrushes up!

Once the paint was the way I wanted, I did some distressing, then wiped it down and sprayed a few coats of General Finishes High Performance Top Coat. After that dried, my hubby helped me flip the beast over and I started on the top.

I stained the top with General Finishes Walnut Gel Stain. I did the stain a little thicker than I normally would because the top was so damaged. The thicker gel stain helped to blend in some of the imperfections so they are less noticeable. When the stain was good and dry, I applied 5 coats of top coat to give it a nice hard finish.

Oh, and I papered the drawers a little differently this time.
I’ll put a tutorial up on that next week.

Did you see those drawers? Swoon!

I LOVE the way he looks now! The Simply White is a beautiful warm white paint that goes amazingly with the walnut stained top. It doesn’t have that cold, sterile feeling that some whites can have. I’m really happy with the way he turned out. I wish I’d have had the good sense to do this the first time I went at him with a can of paint.

Want to see the before and after?

So, what do you think?
Isn’t he a handsome old man!

If you are a Utah local, this sturdy old gramps is available for purchase.

Tell me, what do you think of Benjamin Moore’s color of the year?
Are you digging the white trend?

Linking to: The Painted Drawer | I Heart Nap Time