Chalk Paint Desk Before and After


Today I am going to show your how to chalk paint a desk. If you love a good DIY painted furniture before and after, you will love this Annie Sloan furniture makeover. My office desk before and after is quite dramatic. Come see!

She is finished! And ready for her moment of fame and her big before and after reveal. My vintage secretary desk received a chalk paint makeover. There were quite a few steps involved and I had to pivot and adapt along the way. But I love how my old writing desk looks now.

chalk paint desk makeover before and after

Chalk Paint Desk Before and After

Isn’t she pretty?! I used Annie Sloan chalk paint in the colors White Linen over Paris Grey and I gave the old desk some heavy distressing. I am not sure you remember the before pictures. I showed them in great deal when I was going over all the desk makeover ideas that I had. But here is the proper before picture.

And here is the – in full glory – after picture:

how to chalk paint a desk

Quite the metamorphosis, from ugly duckling to beautiful swan.

How to chalk paint a desk

It was an intensive process let me tell you that. The first step I showed you before and that was the easiest one. Removing the (faux) leather top was just a matter of peeling it off and removing some glue remnants and little nails from the edge.
The center of the top was nice and clean, but around the edges there was a layer of peeling veneer. Removing the veneer from the top was not an easy job. It took me the better part of a day.

how to remove veneer from an old desk

After chipping away at it for a couple of hours I was left with a ruined old iron, a raw, wood desk top, very tired and badly bruised and slightly burned hands and an enormous sense of accomplishment.

I removed the veneer by heating it up with the iron and then scraping it off. Stubborn bits got soaked with water then heated and scraped. And that over and over again until all the veneer was gone.

My iron still works fine but it can obviously only be used in my workshop now. So use an old iron from the thrift shop for a job like this.

For the peeling and the scraping part I used a small putty knife and a triangular paint scraper

Next up was removing the glue that remained after getting rid of the faux leather. And than there was lots of sanding to do. I scraped the glue off with a glue remover and my scraping tools. Always be sure to make sure you are in a well ventilated area if you work with any kind of solvent.

The sanding was straight up. I used my triangular sander and varying grades of sandpaper. I started with something like an 80 grid paper and worked my way down to a 240 grid paper. Wear ear protection, safety glasses and a face mask whenever you start sanding something. Health and safety protection is especially important when working with vintage pieces.

After all that work I was left with a nice smooth surface.

Desk Makeover Sanding

A desk with a ‘smooth’ surface. Still old, roughed up and naturally distressed but looking so much better and ready to be painted.

annie sloan chalk paint

I started by giving the desk one good layer of the color grey. I used Annie Sloan Paris Grey. I followed up with two layers of the chalk paint in the color White Linen (except the drawer fronts Those were left grey).

After the painting I did the distressing with sandpaper and finally I gave my chalk paint desk a good coat of clear wax. The drawer fronts also got some dark wax to tie them in. I chose new drawer pulls that would hide the non-functioning key holes. I really like these new cup drawer pulls. I think they pull the whole look together. New hardware on vintage furniture can make all the difference for the final look. So never skimp on that.

The whole painting process again was not a joy. I am delighted with the final outcome, but I struggled a lot with the chalk paint. I have written an in-depth review of my experiences with Annie Sloan chalk paint, and go into the details about the troubles I experienced when I did this chalk paint furniture makeover. You’ll have to go there to read up about that, because today I want to forget about the troubles and rejoice in the outcome!

chalk paint before and after furniture makeover
how to chalk paint a desk

The careful observer will have recognized which of my inspiration desks turned out to be my most important inspiration.

Mustard Seed Desk Makeover
Miss Mustard Seed Desk Makeover

So in honor of the wonderful Marian I tried to channel my “inner Miss Mustard Seed” and style the desk in her style as well.

The vintage typewriter has a story to tell that I will tell you another time soon.

DIY painted furniture before and after
chalk paint desk before and after

Another project in my big Craft Room Makeover project finished!!

Only 1385 more to go Wie, ik?

chalk paint desk makeover before and after

Isn’t she pretty!?!

This was my second time I worked with chalk paint. The first project involved a makeover of a maid’s closet.

You can find my review of Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint (my feelings were a bit mixed, to say the least) here.

My desk now proudly stands in my craft room/ home office / sewing room. You can find the full reveal of my craft room here.

chalk paint desk before and after
Songbird | Website | + posts

Marianne Songbird is the founder of Songbird, where she hopes to inspire everyone to create a home they love, one DIY project at a time. She shares anything from craft ideas to home decor inspiration and from DIY projects to decorating hacks. Originally from the Netherlands Marianne and her husband Lex are currently renovating a 250-year-old farmhouse in Germany.

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37 Comments

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      Thank you! After so much work giving her the makeover I thought she deserved some proper styling too, before I bury her under paperwork and junk 🙂

  1. Oh Marianne, your desk looks so beautiful- I love it!!! Ohhhh I want one of those! What a labour of love! Well done! My old dark stain oak bureau is looking at me now and it looks very sad… I think I have just decided what make-over to give it 🙂 Looking forward to your thoughts on the chalk paint; I keep hearing about it but have not tried it myself.

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      A sad looking oak bureau. Now we can’t have that. Go slap some paint on that baby and make her happy again….

      1. yes ma’am 😉 The project will have to go to the back of the queue, but I will show you a picture once completed…could be a while though 😉

        1. Marianne@Songbird says:

          Yes! Please do. I love seeing happily painted oak bureau’s. Looking forward to the makeover reveal.

  2. It’s lovely. I especially love the color combo….

    Looking forward to hearing what you think about the chalk paint, I have only done a few pieces, and do like it, with some reservations.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      Yes, I think the color combo makes the desk. I am preparing my post for tonight. Curious to know if my reservations are the same as yours.

  3. You deserve to be very proud of yourself. It was a lot of work and turned out beautifully!

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      Wow that is one big compliment! I love MMS’s one too, but the starker color combination wouldn’t have worked in my room. I am grateful for her inspiration though.

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      Physical pain is true all right. But she was worth it. I guess the life of a home decorator blogger comes with physical hardship 🙂

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      Sorry there is personal history attached to that one. It is not leaving my house 🙂

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      Thank you! And art or not this baby has got to work too, she will be used hard 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.

  4. Lola Fields says:

    So glad I found you. I’m about to try the chalk paint and I need to know all about it before I spend the $’s on it. I’m wanting to paint my bathroom vanity cabinets.

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      I am working on my review for tonights post. Hopefully it will be helpful. And good luck with your vanity cabinets.

  5. Het burootje is erg mooi geworden! Wat een werk!
    Prettig weekend!
    Marianne.

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      Dank je wel! Ja het was zeker een hoop werk, maar ik ben hardstikke blij dat ik doorgezet heb en dat het precies zo geworden is als in mijn fantasie.

  6. Marianne@Songbird says:

    Thank you! And thank you for the FB love too!!!

  7. Absolutely stunning – I love these 2 colours together. CJ

  8. Amazing transformation!! I love how you made it look like something close to a original. You didn’t take the soul from it instead you gave it even more!

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      Ow! That is such a sweet comment. Thank you! I love the idea that I gave it more soul.

  9. Hi Marianne, you were brave to take off all the veneer on top. You did a great job and it turned out well worth the trouble. Love the technique with the gray on the drawer fronts, thanks so much for coming to the party and linking up to VIF!!

  10. Hello Marianne,

    First of all; I love this make-over. Great job!!

    I have worked a lot with AS Paint (and all other brands of chalk paint) in the past, but the ‘no-sanding and no priming’ story is nonsense. It is always better to degrease thoroughly, remove old layers of wax and sand glossy surfaces lightly. I understand that the ‘no prep’ part is tempting, but use your common sense. For example; when you’re working on an old piece of furniture that has been French polished, you can’t just paint over it. And some types of wood, like oak, contain tannin, which causes these yellow or brownish stains. If this occurs, you really should prime the wood with a special primer.

    I compared AS paint with our own Chalk Paint (Abbondanza) and did a lot of tests on ‘difficult surfaces’ like melamine, waxed and glossy surfaces etc. and AS did not stick better. To be honest; our paint was more durable, even without primer 🙂

  11. Oh – she is pretty! Love every last detail! It sounds like it was a ton of work, but so worth it. The typewriter looks like it has been on that desk since back in the day. Just wonderful!

  12. Your desk is beautiful! What a great job. I really like how you have it styled with the old typewriter and other accessories. The chair looks so pretty with the desk.
    I’m a new follower and hope you’ll stop by and follow back on GFC.
    Mary Alice

  13. Wow! What an incredible makeover! I REALLY REALLY like it! Don’t you love it when all your hard work pays off! What an incredible accomplishment! I’m your newest follower…

  14. The desk is a beauty-love that ascp!! Following you from TDC-stop by for a visit!

    1. Marianne@Songbird says:

      Ah welcome! I hope we will get to know each other.

  15. Hi Marianne! I popped over from your HomeTalk post to get the low-down on this piece… love the way it turned out! I’m tackling a secretary this weekend and have been on the fence about using a 2 tone approach. I think this sealed the deal!
    Enjoy your weekend ~ Heidi @ Decor & More

  16. Oh wow! That is beautyfull! I love the colors you chose! It looks very similar to the secretary I did a makeover on, a few weeks ago:) You can see it on my blog:)

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