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Mid Century Modern Desk Makeover

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It’s always fun to find a piece of furniture that’s exactly what you’ve been looking for, and most importantly, in your budget. When we found this mid century desk, it’s was perfect except for the blonde wood color. So, A makeover was in order.

My daughter is home from college this summer, and she came home with most of her dorm room in tow. It didn’t take long to realize that her things weren’t going to fit in her bedroom with the furniture she had. Keeping the budget tight, and specific measurements we could be another piece of furniture in, we began our search. A vanity or desk is just what we needed, but it had to be small. I also wanted the piece to be unique and pretty, although I knew I could makeover almost anything to make it coordinate with her things. After a week or so of searching everywhere from antique stores to thrift shops, I was afraid I was going to have to settle with something we both weren’t in love with.

 And then we found it. This adorable little mid century youth desk popped up in a Craigslist ad for a city about 20 minutes from mine. I contacted the seller for a few more details, and to see if he’d meet me halfway to purchase. When he said yes, I gathered up my teenage boys to help (and because, come on, Craigslist, you never know right?) and we picked up the desk.

mid century desk from craigslist

Other than a little cleaning and an easy repair to one of the legs, it was perfect. He even gave me a discount because he didn’t know the leg was messed up when we originally spoke.

I love the clean lines and design of mid century furniture. I admire it’s originality and style, but I don’t mind changing the look of a piece to update it into the 21st century. Although mid century pieces are often desired in their original blonde wood color, it just didn’t work in our space.

For this makeover I used two coats of Duck Egg Blue chalk paint by Annie Sloan. I always debate on the sealer, because both wax and polycrylic work just fine on chalk paint. I decided for this one, I’d wax it using Minwax. Yep, that’s right. Not the Annie Sloan wax, because I don’t even have any. Minwax works just fine, I promise. I’ve used it on tons of pieces.

mid century desk hardware update

We also replaced the hardware with something sparkly and girly, but I did keep the original drawer pulls also, just in case we ever decided to put them back on.

desk drawer update with glass knobs
duck egg blue desk makeover
youth desk makeover duck egg blue

If you enjoy this project, you may also enjoy these others I’ve shared here. 

Goodwill Hutch makeover 

pretty chalk paint hutch
10 Fabulous Furniture Makeovers Using Chalk Paint
10 chalk paint furniture makeovers

 

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Comments

  1. Lisa Isabella Russo says

    I’m glad you found something that fit what you were looking for so well. It looks great.

    • Molly says

      Hi Anne! Glad you stopped by, it’s always fun to find someone who enjoys the same things I do! I’ll stop by and check out your blog too.