Re-Making the Desk: The Big Reveal

Before I do the big reveal, I thought I would show you Anne’s room, so that you will see how perfectly her desk/dresser fits in with the decor.

For starters, she dressed herself – and was quite proud of her outfit!  Now you can see the butterflies going up the wall and all of her homemade cuddly quilts piled high on the bed. What is missing is her butterfly quilt, it lives downstairs. The butterflies are important…

More quilt decor – her wall hanging in blue, pink, gray and white was designed by me and the wall hanging that has been turned into a window covering was hand embroidered by a dear family friend. It has been protected with blackout fabric on the back and hung with looped ribbon. I wanted to make sure it was protected from sun damage.

And now…the what you’ve all been waiting for, the big reveal!

Now, as I mentioned earlier, Lowe’s sold me the wrong kind of paint and I made lemonade out of lemons. Here’s what happened. I told the guy at the paint counter that I wanted a glossy/shiny finish, and I intended to use a stencil to paint butterflies on after I was done as a nice detailing. He said no problem, they sold tester cans for $3.00. Well all of that is true, except that the Satin paint that comes in the tester cans will NOT stick to the latex enamel glossy finish!  So I decided to go with butterfly decals instead, and to take it one step further, I really almost want to thank the guy, because you know what, when Anne is 15 butterflies might not be so hip anymore and instead of having to repaint the whole desk, all I will have to do is take the decals off!

Here’s is another view of more butterflies:

Do you also remember yesterday when I mentioned I got primer and 2 different kind of paint? Well here’s why:

I turned the desk part of the dresser into a chalkboard!  For now it will be a fun place to color and when she is older it will be a fun place to leave her secret messages.

I am so happy with how it turned out and the best part is that the dresser in our guest room has been emptied of her clothes and can now actually be used by guests! Oh yeah, and she loves it too!

I think my next home dec project will be refinishing the chair my parents bought for me to go with this desk umpteen million years ago 🙂

21 thoughts on “Re-Making the Desk: The Big Reveal”

  1. It turned out beautifully! And I am glad you can easily change the butterflies if needed, even if that was not the plan! 🙂

  2. Attagirl! You did great! Love how it “goes” with her room, and the chalkboard area is inspired…super job! (And of course, she did a super job picking her outfit and getting dressed. I mean, after all, let’s give some credit where credit is due, right? 🙂 )

  3. So cute! Did you know they sell a paint that is magnetic and you can put it under chalkboard paint? I saw it on Saturday’s Novagratz (probably butchered their name) show on HGTV. Who knew?

  4. Melissa, what a grand reveal. You did a fantastic job. Good job making “lemonade.”
    The chalkboard part is perfect. I know Anne is going to enjoy the desk for many years.

  5. Super cute! And FUNctional too! What a deal!! About that sampler paint – if it’s like the samplers they sell at Sherwin Williams, it’s meant to do color matching/sampling only. The paint itself does not contain all the right ingredients (chemicals) to make it a permanent covering. They’re supposed to know that and TELL YOU that……at least, they do at Sherwin Wms. We love our Lowes & our Lowes people, but…we’ve found (yes, the hard way) they aren’t always up to speed on the products they sell.

    But, as you say, eventually, butterflies may need to be removed, so all’s well!

  6. I love the makeover on the desk. The chalkboard part was a real inspiration. That will be so much fun! It looks great in her room – love all those quilts everywhere!

  7. WOW ! It turned out fabulous and her room is so gorgeous !! chalkboard paint – very cool ! I’m about done with my 2 ‘projects’ . The butterflies are wonderful and the stickers will work out wonderful as she gets older !

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