Shabby sewing table turned desk before + after!

 

You wouldn’t believe it, but this desk was a break-away top sewing table in her former life.  A giant hole in the center of the desk top with two sketchy pieces of wood sitting inside.

We drove out to check it out as it was for sale on Offer Up, and I thought we would be saying, thank you and heading back home.

That is not how things went down, and I should probably know that when an impossible challenge is in front of us, Troy goes into major trouble shooting mode.

Knowing that he loves an impossible challenge, we headed back to Vancouver from Portland with the questionable project in the truck bed.

Here is the before picture, you really can’t tell that the top is a break-away top.  But it’s there alright.

Kind of sad and outdated huh?

 

 

Because I am not well-versed in auto body work, bondo and fiberglass etc…I will just say that if you have a hole in a desk that used to be for a sewing machine, it can be sealed and look like it was never there.

Unless you peek underneath her but I am pretty sure we won’t spend a lot of time on the floor doing that hee hee.

I could not believe my eyes when he was done working his auto-body magic on this pretty desk.

And when she was delivered to me to work on, all I could see what a lovely blank canvas of a white desk.

All traces of her former life had been washed away by the hands of a very determined man who seems to enjoy this crazy before and after life just as much as I do.

After we painted the desk and drawers all white, we allowed it to dry for a week which really allowed the paint to cure well.

I like to do that if I know I am going to be doing a heavy distressing so the paint comes back off with the sander the right way and not in chunks.

 

 

I went all in on this one, not a light distressing but a full on paint removal, and as the paint came off to reveal the warm brown underneath, I began to just love her so much.

After I was done I added a trace of aqua by hand to the drawer fronts for a bit of detail.

The pulls we removed and painted flat black.

Once I was done distressing, I put the pulls back on and gave the whole desk a good coat of Howard Feed-N-Wax which really brought the warmth of the wood out.

 

 

My favorite spot to take photos is in my front yard in the summer at about 7:45pm.  You will see a lot of my photos here with the faded wood fence in the background and the light beginning to dip below the tree tops, perfect time for snapping a pretty shot.

 

 

Now this super shabby dresser is residing in our playroom upstairs above our garage.  It’s going to be home for Troy’s parents when they arrive from their final missions trip after a lifetime of service in ministry.  When we finish the room I will share with you how it turned out, I am loving it so far.  Lots of grey, white, aqua and so relaxing.  A welcoming studio for them to rest and settle into their new hometown while they look for their new home.

 

 

Isn’t life funny how we can take something that someone else discarded or did not see the potential in, and breath new life into it?

I wonder if that is how God looks at us, He sees his beautiful creation and when the time is right, the right circumstances and people are pulled together, and a new thing is made.  A new life, a second chance, a new and fresh beginning.

All at just the right time, as it is supposed to be.

Thank you so much for reading friend, and following along.  I hope you have a wonderful, amazing + blessed week!

Until next time,

 

Stay crafty-

xo, Tanya

       

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