The Huntley Desk

As I continue to share projects with you, I’d like to let you know a bit about my background.  But instead of dumping a long history on you, I thought I’d just let little bits dribble out at a time! 

I currently work from home and have periods of time when I am not involved with my job, but it is important I remain at my desk.  Hmmm, how shall I spend my time (productively) during those lulls?

Craigslist, baby, Craigslist!  I stalk it throughout the day, refreshing quite frequently.  Much to my surprise, this beautiful mahogany desk appeared! 

She had enjoyed better days, but her structure looked good.  Oh dear…no phone number in the CL listing so I fired off an email.  The listing was only 15 minutes old when I first spotted it.  Certainly I’ll be getting a call in response to my email. I waited for 90 whole minutes and had not received a reply.   It seemed like an eternity!  I sent another email.  “I don't mean to be a nudge, but I see the ad is still up.  Are you currently talking to someone else about this item or is it still available?”  Fortunately, the seller responded by letting me know others had been in contact with her, but no one had set up a time to come look at it.  Moral of the story, don’t assume! It’s okay to be a little forward!  Needless to say, this lovely desk came to live with us!

What do we know about pieces with the old dark red mahogany stains?  Shellac ‘em!  Or else put up with bleed through!  

See how shiny she is?  That's from a quick coat of shellac.  

I stripped and sanded the top (sorry no pictures!) and flipped her upside down on my work bench.  I find I get into all of the nooks and crannies much more thoroughly when the pieces are upside down.

I knew I wanted to apply clear and dark wax after she was painted so I gave her a very rough paint job.  It allows the wax to settle in the roughness of the paint and adds some character to the finished piece. 

After painting, she gets a coat of clear wax and then some distressing around the edges. And now for the "sludge".  I don’t do well with straight dark wax, so I mixed clear and dark wax together to create a 'sludge'. I applied it with my dark wax brush. This helpful tip is from StoneGable blog.  Here's the link for the tutorial.  It's a great site, by the way...

I learned a wonderful tip from Christen at BlueEggBrownNest.com.  Apply the dark wax and then use some steel wool to lightly pull it off.  That tip has made such a difference in my technique.  She has a good video if you want to take a look.

I flipped over the vanity and gave her curvy top a good coat of Minwax Dark Walnut.  A few coats of polyacrylic and she is ready for adoption. 

This was my first stab at refinishing and I think it turned out well.  Another case of taking something old and breathing new life into it.

She was adopted by a lovely young woman who will be using it as a vanity.  

It may seem odd my posts include so many acknowledgments to others.  I've learned a great deal from these folks and I would feel guilty not giving credit where credit is due!