I didn’t bother to take a before picture of this desk because I didn’t have any intention of fixing it up so I have to paint a picture in your mind. 

It was awful. A black spray paint finish with a horrible amount of warped areas on the top and wonky drawers. It was just…so…unspecial!

My mom picked it up for me and said, “before you freak out, it was only $1.” Well, a desk for a dollar…can’t pass that up! 

Now, fast forward about a week or so, it was sitting in the workroom giving me the evil eye. Sabrina and I were working on some projects together and I pulled out some leftover paint from a custom color mix. It was so old, it had turned into a thick goop. I got a little excited because it was PERFECT to teach her how to do an impasto finish and this desk was PERFECT because it had so much damage on the top surface. I love when things happen like that. 

The paint color is 50/50 mix of Aubusson and Paris Grey with Old White on the drawers.

This is what the top looks like with the impasto finish and straight dark wax.

There’s so much awesome texture and it all blends with the flaws!

 Patches of dark wax add a lot of depth of color.

The drawers are Old White and have a heavy clear wax/dark wax mix so they have as much color variation as the framework.

And, when you only spend $1 on a desk, you can invest more time in the details. Like the knobs and inside of the drawers. 

Thanks to the graphics fairy, we used some vintage images of a car, trike and scooter for the inside and the knobs. 

It’s completely special now!