A Guilty Pleasure

One of my favorite things to do is to take an item that has been forgotten, unloved, discarded and turn it into something new, useful and pretty.  It is  pretty addicting when you can take something bound for the junk yard and recreate it. 

Earlier this year, I was driving around after a morning of yard sales. (Ok, ok, I was lost after a morning of yard sales and was trying to find my way back into town.)  I happened upon a junk shop.  There was some furniture out front that probably shouldn't have been saved, but it caught my eye.  So, I did the only thing that I could do, of course.  I stopped the car, unloaded the kiddos, and lugged them over. 

Once inside, I found a gorgeous sideboard that was begging to make itself a permanent fixture in my living room.  But alas, it had just been sold for a mere $30.  Ouch!  My heart was devestated, for about 30 seconds.  And then I caught a glance of this pretty lady hiding in a corner under a load of, well, junk.

Isn't she lovely?  Ok, maybe most of you would think that this is a lost cause.  But I saw such potential in this girl.  Twenty dollars later and a call to the hubs to have help loading her, she was mine!

I fell in love with this color, and knew I wanted to keep the same feel once it was repainted.  I also knew I wanted this piece to function as a computer desk rather than a vanity, so the divided top wouldn't work either. 

Luckily, my father-in-law had this awesome slab of wood sitting in his garage, and he graciously offered to let me use it.  After a couple coats of stain and top coat of poly, it was exactly what I was looking for.

We stripped off the old paint, cleaned her up, and sanded her down.  Then it was time for paint.  She got a couple coats of a similar color, and some light distressing and antiquing.  I kept the original wooden drawer pulls, because they just felt right.   So, here is my new computer desk!

I am absolutely in love with this desk.  It couldn't have turned out any better.  It is probably my favorite piece of furniture in my house right now.  Part of that is because it is beautiful, and the other part is it was a cheap project!

Original cost of vanity: $20
Cost of Desktop: FREE
Cost of Paint: $16.97 (with a ton of paint left over)
All other supplies include: Stain, Polyeurethane, Sand Paper, Brushes, etc.  These were all things we had already.

Total cost of Computer Desk: $36.97

Hope this inspires you to create something beautiful of your own!

Ms. L