One day as I was leaving school, it was trash day in the neighborhood and this cute little waterfall desk was sitting on the side of the road. I quickly enlisted the help of my coworker and it was in my car. This was the first time I’ve picked up something off the side of the road…and it probably won’t be my last.
The desk itself was very beat up but I started off sanding with the orbital sander and it quickly got the job done. The trim pieces were in bad shape and needed filling so I decided to do a two toned look for the desk – stain the veneer and paint the trim.
I used Danish Oil for the stain and I was very surprised at the color change of the wood. As you can see from the top image, the original color was a yellowish brown. I used a clear Danish oil, so the results are just the color of the natural wood – beautiful!
After staining it was a matter of priming, painting, and adding new hardware! I loved how the desk turned out and it stayed in our family for a year or two. It eventually went to a new home as we needed to free up space for some changes (gotta make room for the baby!). I’m glad I was able to add life to this free piece of furniture.
Rachel Williams
Artist | Designer | Educator
Making mistakes and fixing them, so you don’t have to