Bedroom Vanity

When I was moving to Kansas City, many of our family members kindly donated items for my new apartment.  One of these donations was a small student desk from Nick's aunt.  It was a nice desk, but the finish was an orange-ish eighties oak, and it was also a little worse for wear.  I decided that it deserved an upgrade.  The desk itself is a little on the small side - it isn't possible to store files or paper in it.  But given the *tiny* size of the bathroom, I was desperately in need of somewhere to store makeup and jewelry.  So, it became an integral part of my "vanity nook" in the bedroom.

I don't have a real before picture.  Sorry.  I do have a half-way before picture, with one coat of paint and the drawers.  It gives somewhat of an idea of the desk!

As I mentioned, the finish was orangey, and the handles brassy.  It is also a very light desk, so it does not have any of the extra details that a desk of a similar style might have.  

I decided to use homemade chalk paint on this piece as well.  Instead of buying new, I utilized some latex paint that was leftover from the last time that I painted our bedroom in Chicago.  The color is Sherwin Williams Chinchilla.  It is a taupey/brown/grey/purple color.  

When I previously used it on the walls, it came out much darker and moodier, but between the small scale of this desk, the brighter contrast of the cream walls, and the plaster of paris (which lightens the paint) it came out as a lavender.  The texture of this paint seemed to be a little more difficult to work with than the green oops paint.  I think that this is because it was a self-priming, self-leveling paint.  So, note to self, when working with homemade chalk paint, there is no need to get fancy with the base!

I used a paint brush (as opposed to a roller) for this project because I thought that the style of the piece lent itself to a more textured finish.  I painted inside with this project, which overall worked well.  I used some cardboard for drips, and I did not have to worry about the low temperatures affecting the curing.  I did the first coat, and then waited a few days before the second.  This was not because it needed that much time to cure, but rather because I became caught up in other projects. The only really stinky part was the wax.  I finished painting the second coat in the evening, and once it was dry (about an hour or so) I put on the coat of wax before bed.  Not my best decision!  Oh well, learned my lesson and applied the second coat during they day.

I like how it turned out.  The color is great and the finish is butter smooth.  Just need to work on the chair now!

:)