Desk Reveal

I had a yard sale a few weeks ago and one of my friends had this desk leftover. I decided to try and give it a little face lift since I was actually in need of a desk.

Here is what we started with.


I got a smaller piece of plywood (most hardware stores sell them in different sizes, or just have them cut it for you) and cut it to hang over just a little on the sides.
We set the blade of our circular saw really shallow and scored the top to give it an old schoolhouse desk look.

I don't mind using the saw but I have to admit I enlisted my husband to cut and score the piece of plywood for me. His experience made his lines straighter. I did forget to have him score the edges as well, but that's ok.
I got four large screws and screwed the plywood straight to the top of the laminate on the desk. I scarred and carved the wood with nails and other objects I found sitting in the garage to make the wood appear old and used.

I then sanded down the edges and sides and stained and varnished it. I got some really thin wood cove and stained it, then used Liquid Nails to attache it to the sides of the laminate top.

3 cans of Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint covered the desk. My sister had the genius idea of using jute for the handles since they were an odd size to replace. I actually just braided some twine and used that. I love how it turned out!

I'm thinking I might paint the legs black at some point.

But for now I'll just wait for my Mac to come back from from repair (yes Mac's break too) so that I can set it up on its new home.

This was a really fun and easy project that I worked on at my leisure. I would love to do another one in the future, maybe retro looking or something. These kinds of desks are easy to find and normally very cheap but can clean up well.
Let me know what you think!