Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Another Horrendous Waterfall???!

Just how many horrendous waterfall desks are out there??? Apparently quite a few! I did one years ago, HERE, that actually amazed me! I can't believe how forgiving wood can be. And now, this one..
        I have no idea what people do to their furniture in order to get it to look like this!  On the very bottom scalloped molding on the left side, you can see where a piece is missing. I had to glue this piece (at least they saved it) on so it would match the right side.  See the 5th picture for the result.
 In the below picture, you can see how it all looks after stripping off the whole mess!  The wood was on some sort of plastic or resin underlayment. Very weird. I've never seen anything like it. The top and drawer fronts are walnut and the rest is made of pine.  Very light piece.  Only the parts that were to be stained got an entire stripping. The pine part was sanded only until everything felt smooth to the touch. It all got sprayed with a shellac. It also got a coat of red primer to help the black paint look better. When you apply your paint directly onto the wood without primer, it can look splotchy and rough. You must have a base coat primer before applying your paint. I used the red primer because I used black paint. 
Quite a diff, eh?? 

I used General Finishes Spiced Walnut stain and semi gloss wipe on Arm r Seal for top coat. 
The black is GF Lampblack Milk Paint. 

The handles got sprayed in a soft gold. 
I actually used a small artists' paint brush to do the small round molding on the edging and some of
the tighter to reach areas. It makes for a smooth finish.

                             A few of the drawer bottoms weren't as nice as the top one, so I covered it in a pretty paper, while the sides were painted in a soft ballerina pink.





While these desks are quite a bit of work,  and hardly worth the price that these bring in, I get the satisfaction from knowing that I 'fixed' something in such horrendous condition. 

11 comments:

  1. What a great save! It looks fantastic and I like your choice of colors. The inside paper in the drawers is also very pretty.

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  2. You did such a great job on this desk. It's wonderful to see a piece stained instead of painted.

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  3. I found you over at Before & After Wed & had to see how this turned out. I just spotted one of these at my local restore for $20 yesterday. It might have been in worse shape than yours, but not by much (didn't think it was worth $20). Pinning this for future reference because it looks great!

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  4. Beth, this is amazing! You did such a beautiful job restoring her! Thank you for sharing. You are one of the features at The Round-Up from the Before & After Wednesday party at The Dedicated House. Here is the link so you can check out your feature. http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2016/04/round-wednesday-19.html Have a lovely week! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

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  5. Your talent is absolutely incredible!!!!! I have been reading over your previous posts and am amazed at how you completely transform furniture. You truly have an eye,the creative genious and the PATIENCE for updating outdated pieces!!!!

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  6. I love this. I have a Waterfall vanity, but it's lacking the mirror and stool so it's basically a desk too!
    It's got the original finsh and hardware (including wooden casters). I'd like to refinsh it in a similar way but I'm afraid. I've never even sanded before!

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  7. Beautiful job. It looks just great. A lot of work but sure is worth your effort. Amazing results

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  8. I love seeing these old pieces given love and new life. Beautiful work on this, Beth!

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  9. Can you tell me what year this desk/ vanity is ? I have one just like it but mine has NO handles it has cut outs for hands/ fingers to use to pull drawers open from bottom. Been trying to find a year it was made. Any help would be appreciated. And your work is fabulous by the way!

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  10. Can you tell me what year this desk/ vanity is ? I have one just like it but mine has NO handles it has cut outs for hands/ fingers to use to pull drawers open from bottom. Been trying to find a year it was made. Any help would be appreciated. And your work is fabulous by the way!

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