one week challenge: week 5. stripping, sanding, and painting, oh my!

i was busy this past week!

here is what occupied most of my time:

stripping my vintage thomasville desk! 

there is so much detail in this piece, that eventually, i ended up using q-tips to remove all the stain from the carved areas and recesses.

once all of the old stain was removed, i actually liked the way the way it looked unfinished....but i thought this piece needed some color.

the top had many areas with water damage, and i finally managed to remove it with a secret weapon i discovered! (more on that SOON!)




for the stain, i started with a coat of minwax "golden pecan", but it was so light, that all it did was highlight the fact that the legs and drawers are made from what i believe is oak, and the side panels and top have a cherry veneer. i ended up mixing "dark walnut" with the golden pecan, and ended up with what i thought was the perfect color.

here is the top, all refreshed and pretty.

i thought i loved this desk before, but now i am MADLY in love with it!

i made a total mess in the garage, but it was worth it.

i just started the fist coat of black paint on the drawers. i have been going back and forth about using the old hardware, and getting new polished chrome hardware, and for now i am going to keep the original. i think it will look nice against the black paint, and i want the desk to LOOK like the vintage piece that it is!

also this week----

we finally got the shelving up above the credenza!

first, we screwed and glued (liquid nails) some support cleats to the wall...

and then we used a nail gun (and more liquid nails) to attach the shelf to the cleats.

after that, we attached  trim board across the front.
i am SO excited to have all of this extra storage space! having the shelves in here also makes the ceilings look so much taller!

we are in the home stretch!!

 heres what is still left to do:
-remove the rust from my office chair
-caulk, sand and paint the shelves
-repaint the walls
-get my chair cushions back from the upholstery shop and reattach to chair
-swap out the light
-hang the art
-organize and accessorize!

see you next week for the big reveal!