A Captain's Desk Makeover - The Driftwood Home

Hola everyone! It was a beautiful day here in San Antonio, and I’ve been taking a break from painting since our booth transition has just begun. I’m a little nervous about how this transition is going to turn out, but at least we’re getting our name out there. Anyway, I thought I’d share a makeover on a sweet Captain’s Desk I found on Craigslist a while back.

Originally, it was this orang-ey stain color with a heavy clear varnish. It was missing a handle, the back needed replacing since holes were drilled through it and the top(folds down)stuck. I wanted to style this for a kid’s room as a writing desk with chalkboard in the top three panels but my husband talked me out of it and said it would be cheesy. I’m so glad he did.

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We filled the existing hardware holes and sanded the entire piece. Since this is an oak piece, I knew that it would absorb a lot of paint, and I wasn’t sure if I’d have any bleed through with the previous stain/finish. So I gave it about three coats of spray shellac (clear) to prevent those issues.

I decided to go with a chippy and slightly distressed look on this one. I choose Country Chic Paint’s “Vanilla Frosting” as this is a creamy, warm white. We shaved the fold down top a little so it wouldn’t stick, and we added some cute teardrop pendants I found at hobby lobby to help with the opening. I love the character the keyhole adds to the piece.

I didn’t want the piece to be blinding so I thought, “why not give it a colorful surprise?” Since we were replacing the backing anyway, I chose Behr’s “Cool Lava,” to be the “pop of color.”

We added some simple oval brass knobs, and sealed it in General Finishes HP Topcoat in Satin. I think this desk is perfect functionally for a small space. You can practically place it anywhere and it will fulfill the needs of the space.