Early in our marriage, Dave and I loved spending time walking around antique and art shoppes and we often picked up pieces that were of good quality for a good price. We have lived in 5 homes in our 17 years of marriage and we move everything with us from home to home. Some of it lives in attics and garages until the next home because we might want it then:) I would not say that we are pack rats at all but we are practical and always thinking of the next house.
So, we had a lot in our garage and our attic and I was lucky enough to use some of it for my new office.
Here are some before and after shots of the furniture I painted.
I am such a bad DIY blogger that I actually did not think to take a "before" shot until I had already started painting...
This is a very old small solid wood table that we have had forever. In fact, I think Dave had it before we were married.
I should have sealed this piece with Zinnser shellac since it had a water mark on the top but I did not. Lesson learned.
And here is the after.
{in this last one you can see some of the dark wax and the gilding paste. It really gives it a nice antique look in person.}
(a close up of the gilding wax)
And an instagram close-up that shows the dark wax and gilding paste too.
For this first table, I mixed a little Annie Sloan Old White in with the Paris Grey but honestly it made no difference AT ALL. I put one coat of clear wax, then some dark wax (which made it look dirty--so I removed most of it with more clear wax). Then, I distressed it a little and used gold gilding paste I (next time I would use rub and buff, I think). I LOVE how it turned out. It took no time at all to do all this.
The next table got a quick spray of the Zinnser shellac because it had a water mark on the top too (from a plant I think). We used this as a side table in our sunroom in Virginia. I had forgotten all about it until we looked in our attic.
Here is the "before" (again, I had already painted the bottom a little before the phone snaps)...
And here is the after...
I painted all of it (even the gold metal) with Annie Sloan Paris Gray and then did two coats of clear wax. The I used steel wool to get some of the paint off the gold plaques. No gilding paste. No dark wax. I adore this one. I did distress the edges a tiny bit to reflect normal wear. So happy with it!
And then there was the desk. I had a desk but it was too deep for the space. I wanted something really small because mainly I will be listening/coaching clients there. I will do a little writing and computer work but not much. I really did NOT want to spend a lot of money. I took the boys one day over Christmas break to a charity guild shop in town. The boys LOVED it. They have everything there from furniture to clothes to artifacts and jewelry. This is what the desk looked like. The size was right and I loved the lines but it was in bad shape.
The desk cost $100. Dave puttied a few of the chips for me and I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Graphite.
A few days before I found this desk, Kate suggested a black desk for my office. I had not considered a black desk at all. I kind of laughed her suggestion off. Then an hour later I spotted this black desk in the December issue of Lonny and was in LOVE...
I wanted that small black and gold writing desk so badly. I love it. My daughter has an uncanny sense of design. I am not kidding!
Back to reality though. I needed a desk quickly and had a budget. SO I bought the desk from the guild and painted it Graphite. It is a really really dark gray (like pencil lead). It is a beautiful color.
So here is my after....
I am happy with it for now. Although I need to get a desk chair.
I might add some gold to it whenever I get some spare time (I have none now).
Other sources:
Couch and Chair: Ektorp from Ikea...love them! The price is right and they are comfortable but buy a lint roller as they collect lint:)
Brass desk lamp and glass side table lamps: Homegoods
Wicker Chest: Ikea
Gold Peanut: Pottery Barn (saw it at Christmas time and bought it for myself, wrapped it and put it under the tree!)
Artwork: all stuff that we have collected for years but had no space for in our house. It was still in moving crates in our garage from 4 years ago! We did not know if it would look good together or not but hung it anyway:)
Silver pomegranate: Village Antiques, Houston.
Pillows: These are old and were in a closet under our staircase. I use them in our house in the summer so I am looking for more permanent ones in the same colors for the office. One is Pottery Barn and one is from One King's Lane.
Bowl that holds my business cards: Anthropologie (after Christmas clearance deal)
Rug: Seagrass was there. We bought this this silk Persian rug when we first got married. It has been in different spots in different houses but was rolled up in the closet under our stairs in this house. I tried no less that 4 rugs that we had rolled up in closets and this one looked best.
Plant Stand: This was Dave's parents and we have used it for a bronze statue in our house but again, it was under the stairs collecting dust. I think it is perfect here. And the Christmas cactus on it was a gift a few years ago from my good friend, Lisa.
Diplomas: Yes, a few of you noticed my MA and PhD are from Ohio University and my BA is from LaSalle University. That diploma is completely in Latin! They are vintage;)
I think that covers it all but let me know if you have any questions. I still have some ideas for things to hang above my desk but that will have to wait.
I read a lot and watched a lot of YOUTUBE videos before I did any of the Annie Sloan paint or wax. I m not a really crafty painting kinda gal. Once I helped a friend faux paint her kitchen and her husband called us "Slop job" because we were so sloppy with the paint. (her kitchen did look good though). So if I can do this, anyone can. It is so easy to work with but I recommend that you read up about it too. This video is great for the wax procedure.
