8.16.2010

The Gardner Desk - Before & After

Before As I mentioned earlier we found this desk at a charity yard sale for $10. I had been looking for one so we snatched it up. The drawers all worked wonderfully but there were a few cosmetic repairs we would need to do.
I think the front of the desk is appealing as well. It is paneled on both sides which gives it a real executive polished look.
The trim had come off along the front so that would all need to be replaced. Plus someone left their signature drawing on the very front top drawer. I cannot tell if it is a spider or the beginning of the sun. Either way we would fill it in with wood fill and you would never know it was there.

After
We used a Restoration Hardware Silver Sage paint color on this desk. We just used it on an old school chair and we loved it. I think this color is hard to capture perfectly in pictures so I paired it with this old white chair. This chair was my great grandmother's and the old white paint is genuine. It needs to be stripped and repainted but I kind like the old feel to it. I just don't know how safe the old paint is. Anyhow, I think the white contrasting with the Silver Sage helps demonstrate how perfect the color is. I initially wanted to keep the original hardware but so many pieces were missing and I did not want to have to match them up so we replaced them with our favorite oil rubbed bronze knobs and pulls.
I was drawn to the little upside down square U shaped legs that it was sitting on.
For those of you who know me know that I love old things. Chippy rusty old pieces. I picked up this old stapler at a thrift store the other day for $1.50. It is rusty and goes so well with my old typewriter. I think my great grandmother Lucille would be pleased to know that her chair is still in use. And coupled with an amazing desk!
The front of the desk turned out beautifully as well. Loved the paneled look as I mentioned earlier. We were supposed to be out of town this weekend visiting with my grandmother on her 80th birthday but a few of us came down with summer colds and our little one in particular had a fever and was super grumpy. On our trip we were going to pick up her old buffet that has been sitting in a garage up at my parent's ranch house for quite some time now. We will have to plan another trip up there before the snow hits. I cannot wait to come up with a plan to renovate that family heirloom.


I am linking to the parties on my sidebar.

21 comments:

Extra! Extra! Blog All About It said...

Beautiful! I love RH's Silver Sage ~ used to have it in the Living Room & Dining Room of a former house. It's beautiful on this desk.

Kimberly

Cassie Bustamante said...

it turned out so nicely! love the color and the hardware is perfect and brings it up to date!
i am heading to the PO tomorrow to mail your scale! i had the perfect sized box on hand for it, so i will let you know what the shipping cost. i am so glad it's going to you!

Deborah said...

Beautiful job you've done! I love it! Im falling..head over heels in love with "white" furniture and white walls...Im getting ready to paint!
Glad to meet you..and Im following you (purehunnybee)
Come and visit! :)

Deborah

Unknown said...

SOOoooo Beautiful! Thanks for sharing your project at Anything Related! ~Bridgette

michelle said...

That turned out beautiful! I love the color! I love the chair the way it is but I hear you about the safety of the paint. Can you put a seal over it? It would look very pretty refinished to, you always make pieces look so amazing! I hope you are all feeling better!!

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Oh it is fabulous. I love the way you redid it. I also absolutely love the typewriter, the old stapler and the cute chair that you put with it. Wonderful. Thanks so much for linking to TTT. Hugs, Marty

Hailey S said...

Hello just found your blog! Love it. Do you teach classes on furniture painting? I would love to learn some technique since I have some old furniture that needs a makeover.Let me know if you would be willing I would definately pay to learn something like this! Thanks Hailey
hstrelich1@yahoo.com
PS Loved the channel 5 segment!

Kristen said...

It turned out fabulous! It's so pretty. Thanks for sharing.

Bonnie@Creative Decorating said...

This turned out great. I love what you do with furniture. I have a question. Hi Marian! I know you are super busy right now getting ready for Luckets. You have given me encouragement to try to do some things and start selling. My first project is a little girls dresser, chest of drawers, desk and chair that I bought for $60 total. What color would you recommend painting for resale? I wanted to do pink but thought white would be better with pink hardware. What is your opinion? I want to make sure it sells!!!

Marty said...

Wow, I love the chair too!!

Shaunna said...

Beautiful!! I do love the pulls on it and I've been thinking of using RH silver sage--it's beautiful! -shaunna :)

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

wow, I love old furniture makeovers! great job!

Robin Ange said...

So cool it looks so much better with the white paint. Love this! You have to link this to my Upcycled Awesome Linky party at http://tinyurl.com/Upcycled10

kelly said...

that looks really cool! don't you just love old grandma's furniture, it was made so well!

René said...

It looks great. I need to remember that color.

-Rene

Between Blue and Yellow said...

I just got a desk that looks almost exactly like this one!
Great job, I hope you'll stop by my blog next week to see the reveal of my desk.

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

I love a good before and after and I love working over furniture!

Kate said...

This looks fantastic! Great job!

memakingdo said...

What an amazing tranformation! I would love if you linked it to my linky party!
http://memakingdo.blogspot.com/2010/09/your-so-very-creative-linky-party.html

Anonymous said...

Great choice on the hardware and the color is perfect! A very classic piece! Nicely done!

Delightful Order said...

Love this. It turned out great. I featured you today at my Delightfully Inspiring Thursday Party.

http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/2011/08/delightfully-inspiring-thursday-party_24.html

DaNita

Related Posts with Thumbnails