Saturday, April 28, 2012

The Horrendous Waterfall Desk

Ok. Feast your eyes on this beauty.  A CL find. It had been sitting out on a balcony.  Boy oh boy, she did not look good for her age.  The veneer was in shambles. No way to save it the bottom portion. The top was stained beyond recognition, the drawers were beat to hell and back.  Why did I buy this? (Gasp, "you actually paid money for this creature??") Um yeah,,15 bucks. What the heck; it's how we learn people! Besides, I just love me a good challenge! So here ya go,,,,feast your eyes:
 This baby put my wood finishing  skills to the test. 
Don't fret. When you see the finished top you will think I replaced it. I didn't. 
 I used, oh, about a pound of bondo and wood filler. 
 
                                         
     Since the veneer was peeling so badly from the inside panels, I chose to remove the worst part
                 and replace it with a piece of wood.  Sometimes you just have to improvise.


                                  Much to my surprise, the top sanded down rather nicely.......(Just you wait!)

Those wet stains are an attempt to bleach out the black stains (usually caused by water). 
It's supposed to set for a day or so. Uh no, I neither have the patience or inclination to wait.
 I hoped the stain would cover it. I used Minwax dark walnut (use a wood conditioner first).



Well Shut my mouth! Looka that finish! Not too B A D.....if I do say so myself. 
(Dont'cha yall peek now...just stay with me and scroll slowly to the bottom)
I believe I used a mixture of stains again. Gel walnut is great tho. 
 I like to use this Deft instead of poly. This is a waterbourne acrylic finish. It goes on beautifully. I turned the desk on it's back and painted it on like that. I didn't want it running down the front curved part. It dries fast and doesn't leave brush marks. Very important to use a quality brush. This was brand new. I clean them immediately and only use this for finishes. If you use a brush that was used with paint, you are likely to get little paint bits in the finish. Keep your brushes separate. 

So I had patched the knob holes but since I was leaving these unpainted, they were kind of noticeable. 
I decided to do some light stenciling with a metallic glaze on the drawer fronts, on the inside toe kick pieces and on the faux drawer right in front.



And here she is....all dressed up,,,
I am so diggin' this gorgeous walnut! I swear it's the same top. 

Paint color is a mixture of light blue and a gray/blue cut with some white. 
remember the replacement wood??? These were placed on the inside
as well as on the outside. I tried to make it seem like it was made that way. 
                           The flash has wiped out all the stenciling. You can barely see it.


You cant really tell in these pics, but the knobs are black w/a metallic-y iridescence.


Speaking of old-style decor. These blue baubles are from that era. They belonged to my mother.
I believe they are from the 50's-60's.  I remember her looking so glamorous when I was a kid.
Plus I just had to add one last shot of this vanity top.






15 comments:

  1. LOVE THE DESK IT TURNED OUT G0RGEOUS AND THE STENCIL ON THE DRAWER FRONTS LOOKS BEAUTIFUL!

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  2. It turned out amazing! I never would have guessed you would be able to save that top! Nice work!

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  3. you are so talented!! this piece came out beautifully!

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  4. Beautiful job! I love the painted and I love natural wood tones and this is the perfect combination.

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  5. it's beautiful! could i have an 1/8th of your talent here? please?

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  6. Wow! It looks great - beautiful job. :)

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  7. Wow! You did a fantastic job on that! I don't know that I would have taken on a job that big, but it looks beautiful now.

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  8. You know, I don't usually go for waterfall furniture, but you really did a great job on that. It looks amazing!

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  9. Fantastic! You are so brave for attempting that piece, and you did a beautiful job.

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  10. I like this redo alot! I am actually in the midst of redoing a waterfall vanity that I am changing to 2 bedside tables. This has given me some great ideas. Thanks!

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  11. Now can you make me pretty again? LOL

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  12. I have a desk with a veneer that's in great shape. I really just want to darken the color. It's a cherry color and I want it in a dark walnut. Can I just apply a gel stain directly to the veneer? Or do I have to sand it down before applying the stain?

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