My Pottery Barn Desk Hack

I'm not sure if I'm the only one on earth who's like this, but my design style is always changing.  I am always changing my furnishings and home decor.  I consider myself a pretty eclectic person when it comes to home decor.  I like a lot of different styles from Hollywood Regency to Modern.  I've always loved industrial style.  I love the idea that items that were once in a factory can be furnishings in my own home.  Last summer I bought a factory cart to use as a coffee table in our basement and it fits in perfectly.  It reminds me of a different time.  I love buying something old and doing some research to find out it's history.

I've seen so much industrial design in magazines, design blogs and stores lately.  One item in particular that stood out to me was a desk I saw on Pottery Barn's website.  The fans on the wall are amazing as well as the giant abacus, but the one thing that I fell in love with was that incredible desk.  It almost looks like it could have been in an old school or office in a previous life.

 I was checking out Goodwill a couple of weeks ago.  I get a 'feeling' that I need to make a visit and this was one of those times where my 'feeling' was right.  I found two honey oak filing cabinets for $18 each.  They had great brass hardware on them and were in OK shape.  I bought one and took it home for additional office storage.  That night when I was trying to sleep I kept thinking about the filing cabinet and then it dawned on me....That Pottery Barn Desk!!!  I went in and measured and the filing cabinet was the same height as my current glass desk.  I decided to go back to Goodwill the next day and if the desk idea was meant to be the other filing cabinet would still be there. I was beyond excited when I ran to the back of Goodwill and it was still there!!

Here is a before picture of one filing cabinet (minus the brass hardware).

Good bones, but the color wasn't my first choice.  

In my mind I kept thinking I could reuse the glass desk top from my current desk for the project.  However, I knew in the back of my mind this wasn't going to work.  Sure enough once I was done painting the cabinets I realized this idea wasn't going to work.  The glass looked ridiculous and was far too big, plus it was nowhere near what I had envisioned this desk to be.  This meant I needed to make a stop at Lowe's, where I found the perfect desk top....an unfinished, solid wood panel.  I one of the employees cut a foot off the end of the panel and then brought it home.

After some wood glue to fix some issues, the cabinets were ready for paint.  I painted them Annie Sloan Old White and topped them with some clear wax.  For the hardware, I took it off the cabinet and sprayed them Oil Rubbed Bronze.  After everything was done I took a bit of sandpaper to the cabinets to give them a bit of age and character.

For the desk top I used a combination of Dark Walnut and Kona stain.  I felt the panel was too 'new' looking so I banged on it with some tools to give it some dings and character.  

After I was done with staining the top I decided it needed something else so I added a number.  My Husband thought I was crazy.  I went in the house and printed a number 2 on regular computer paper.  I found where I wanted to put the number and then traced the outline with a pencil.  It left a nice little indentation in the wood.  I was out of black paint so I thought I'd try a Sharpie instead.  It worked great!  After the number was filled in, I distressed it a bit to make it look like it had been there a long time.  I really wanted the top to look like it had been a piece of wood I found in an old factory.  I finished off the whole desk stop with a couple of coats of dark wax.

I couldn't wait to see the desk all put together.  I had my fingers crossed that my 'vision' would match the end product.

Here is the finished desk.  I'm in love!

I like the painted hardware so much better!

I had purchased these old film reels from a tag sale site last spring for the Hubby to put in the basement.  He never used them so I decided to use them in the office instead.

 When the Hubby saw the 2 on the desk he asked me why I on earth I picked that number, but I honestly have no idea!  It was the first number that came into my mind.  My mind works in mysterious ways :-)

I'm happy with how this project turned out.  I now have a desk that is uniquely mine.  I like my take on the Pottery Barn desk better than the inspiration desk!  Plus I like the price of mine a heck of a lot better!!  The cost of my new desk was a whopping $66 including tax!  It's perfect for me and my ever changing decor.

I'm working on a few new posts right now that I can't wait to share with you!  One piece I just I finished this weekend and it's one of my all-time favorite pieces.  All that's left is to take some pictures of the finished piece and get it delivered to it's new home.

Thank you for reading and let me know what you think.  Am I the only person out there that loves to change up their decor all the time?

Have a great week!

Melody


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