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.