My office space has needed an upgrade for quite some time now. A space that is dedicated to working needs to have balance and style something my space has been lacking. I refinished and painted my office desk as a start to upgrading my office space.
I have a lovely office space, it is right off the living room and is big enough for a workspace and my crafts. To be honest though, I don’t use the office portion of the space often enough. My computer is an all-in-one model that I can move around and I tend to move it into whatever room my husband in is (I kinda like being around him). This works fine most of the time but lately, I have felt like I should utilize the space more.
One of the reasons I don’t like working in there is because it’s unfinished. It makes me feel unorganized which is never good for a workspace. There is a desk, a sewing machine, and a craft area and the whole space lacks decor…boring! I decided this needed to change and the first thing to tackle was redoing my office desk. It looked exactly like it did when I bought it at an estate sale, I don’t know a year ago! It was one of those situations where you buy something for a project with the full intention to start it the next day but it sits for a year (story of my life).
I love the look of dark stained wood so I wanted to stain the top of the desk and paint the rest. The last time I redid a desk was when I was a kid, and I am pretty sure my dad did most of the work. So I went into this with no idea what I was doing. Staining can be tricky (or so I’ve heard) and I didn’t want to screw it up so I did my research and spoke with a very nice guy at Home Depot. It turned out to be a pretty easy process.
Supplies I used:
- Varathan Dark Walnut Wood Stain
- Varathan Satin Polyurethane
- Sandpaper (I used 100 grit to sand and 150 grit to smooth)
- Electric sander
- Heavey duty gloves
- Latex gloves (for staining)
- Pure White flat interior paint
- 100% cotton shirt
- Painters tape
- Paint brushes
- Metallic gold spray paint
- Handkerchief (respirator mask works too)
First, I sanded the desk. When sanding any wood always sand in the direction of the grain or it will cause scratches that will show up in the finish. Since I was planning on staining the top of the desk, I sanded it really well. This was way harder than I expected. The original finish was thick and took hours to sand off, but once I got down to the wood it was really pretty. I couldn’t have done it without the electric sander but it really messed with my hands. The heavy duty gloves were a must and I had to take a lot of breaks so my hands didn’t get too itchy.
Once I got all the finish off I lightly sanded the rest of the desk. Since I was painting the rest of the desk I didn’t need to sand it as much, which was a relief to my hands. I sanded it just enough to create texture.
I wiped down the entire desk to make sure there was no dust and taped it off to prevent dripping. Making sure the room was well ventilated (I would have worked outside, but I live in Oregon where it rains all the time) and wearing my handkerchief I started applying the stain. Using a 100% cotton shirt (you can use a paint brush but an old shirt is cheaper) I wiped on the stain in the direction of the grain (a good rule of thumb is to do everything in the direction of the grain). I started with short strokes but quickly realized that the wood absorbed fast. I wanted a smooth finish so long strokes that started from one side of the desk and went to the other worked much better.
Once I covered the entire top I let it sit for 3-5 minutes and wiped it off, following the instructions on the staining can. I repeated this 2 more times. The wood was weird, it absorbed quickly but only in certain spots. Every time I wiped it off there were areas more stained than others, not the look I was going for. Since I wanted a dark stain I left the last coat on until it dried. This isn’t what the can or the guy at home depot said to do but hey, I was winging it anyways so why not take a chance.
After the stain was dry I started with the polyurethane. This top coat comes in matte all the way to super glossy. I chose to use satin, not too matte and not too glossy. Using a different cotton shirt I wiped it on in the same way as the stain. Allowing each coat to dry for 2 hours and I applied a total of 3 coats.
While waiting for the polyurethane coats to dry, I took off the handles and began painting the drawers. I was careful when painting over the handle holes to ensure I didn’t paint them closed. I also used a wood skewer to poke through the holes after I painted. It’s tempting to paint quickly just to get it done but that can cause dripping and an uneven paint job. Light coats and allowing them to dry completely in between gives the best results.
My initial plan was to find new handles but instead of having to drill new holes I spray painted the original ones. If you are redoing a desk and want different handles, finding used ones at a thrift store or Habitat for Humanity Restore is an inexpensive option.
I cleaned the handles as best as I could and laid them on an old towel outside. I lightly sprayed one side at a time and allowed them to dry thoroughly between coats. When the desk dried I added the handles back onto the drawers to finish my desk.
Goes to show that even if you don’t know what you are doing projects can turn out great! And if they don’t then at least you learned something for next time. My improved desk already has me using my office space more.
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