We were redoing our basement due to water damage (more to come on that!) and wanted to keep our current desk in the guest room as a “backup office”. The current desk, however, had been given to us for free and while it was a well-made piece of furniture, the color of it resembled the faint yellow of undershirt armpit stains. With everything we were doing to improve the space, it felt like the desk MUST also be improved on. I didn’t want to pay for a new desk, and didn’t know how to get rid of this one, so I decided to just snazz the ol’ girl up. And for cheap!
First, please note that I did this DIY project during the winter … our basement renovation was over the holidays and I have zero patience. That being said, I directly defied the recommendations of the chalk paint I used and painted at colder temperatures … so please know that this turned out well, despite the paint slightly freezing in place as it was dripping. Truly, if I can make this project a success … anyone can.
Items required:
- Free or cheap ugly desk
- About 6 cans of chalk spray and 2 cans of clear chalky finish spray
- Two rolls of peel and stick wallpaper
- Cute but inexpensive draw pulls
You can see from these pictures above, I indeed did paint them on plastic in my garage. The paint did not go on evenly because I am a bad DIY-er and didn’t follow directions … truly do try to do this in the correct temperatures! But, even with my flaws, I still salvaged the desk. I easily measured and cut the peel and stick wallpaper to the drawers individually, before replacing the draw pulls. If you don’t use the second roll of paper, you can return it.
Finished product! This doesn’t screen that it’s a designer desk, but it shows that even with the most basic skills and creative talent, you can take a cheap or free piece of furniture and do a 1-day, quick and easy DIY project. I have had compliments from EVERYONE who has seen this desk in our house – they can’t believe I was able to redo it like this! Realistic DIY is the only necessary DIY … and for less than $100!
