I had it all planned out the night before. I was going to as many yard sales as I could find that Saturday. I was hungry for new pieces to reimagine. I scoured the internet (okay, I went to Craig's List) in search for the nearest yard sales that looked promising. I even found an app that would map out the quickest route. I was serious about this quest, and had no time to waste. Saturday morning was here, and I was up bright and early in my battle gear ( t- shirt, jeans, and COMFORTABLE shoes). My mother pulled up with her trusty pick up truck, and we were ready to brake for yard sales. I began to tell her about my well executed plan, carefully explaining where we would go first, time limits per yard sale, negotiating, etc. The plan was flawless. I was going to be the "Ultimate Yard Sale-er", Ha ha ha! "That sounds good," she said with a bit of confusion and worry in her face, "but lets go to the one I saw around the corner first." "Oh," I replied. "okay." and we were off.
Three short minutes later we pulled up to a lovely home in a part of my neighborhood I had never seen. I was immediately intrigued upon first glance by a few interesting items. Long story short, that was the only yard sale we visited, but what a sale it was. We happened upon an antique collector with loads of projects he had taken on that he was ready to unload. He was even gracious enough to show us a bit of his private collection, and sell us a few items from it. We took two truck loads home and called it a day.
Among our awesome finds was this beautiful writers desk. It was among the owners private collection. It hid in the corner of the room behind a few other pieces, but the legs peeked through the pile and caught my attention. Although it was already a beautiful piece, I knew I could make it even better. When I got it to my workshop I noticed a tag on the back of it with the words "Statesville Furniture Company". I love to research anything I come across to learn it's story. Amazingly, even though I had a great lead, I was unable to find much on this company or it's origins. The best I could dig up was that this piece was possibly from the early 1920's. That qualified it as an antique making it almost 100 years old. It became even more special. Now on to the "reimagining".
This antique writers desk was beautiful, but needed some minor repairs. The legs were becoming detached from the desk, the drawer didn't glide as smoothly as I would've liked, and the top of the desk had seen better days. I went to work making these minor repairs to bring this desk as close to it's original state as possible.
After a bit of "surgery" and rehab for this piece I was ready to give her the makeover she deserved. I'd seen the combination of paint and wood textures combined, and thought I'd give it a go on this piece. I decided to go with Annie Sloan French Linen. It's a neutral color that can be incorporated into most design aesthetics, and can add a classic look to any piece.
I am extremely happy with the way this turned out! It's elegant, chic, classic, and doesn't diminish the timeless beauty of the original piece. Perfect in every way!
I wanted to keep the legs in their original wooden state, and just gave them a light sanding and fresh coat of stain. The grey and wood compliment each other beautifully.
The inside of the drawer was not in the best shape, so instead of restoring it, I covered the base of the drawer in burlap. I thought it added a nice, classic touch and increased functionality. I kept the vignettes simple with a shabby chic and country flair. Lastly, but definitely not least, I added those gorgeous, white ceramic, rose knobs. They were the cherry on top!
If you can't tell by now, I LOVE this piece. It will be difficult to part with it, but it is available in our store right now!
What a gorgeous piece. I love the paint/stain combination.
Great blog/great furniture pics/great creativity/great job!
Your story behind your crafts and talent is awesome. Your vision aligns well the photo. The best of luck on this new mission
When is the book coming out?!! I kept wanting to read the end result!! You can place all of these blogs into one book called Rhenovations Reimagine!!! Awesome work and beautiful table!!
I’m so glad the wind blew us into that direction. The last piece hidden way back and turns out to be the best piece. Beautiful transformation. I love the fact that you left the front legs natural.
Leave a comment