The Desk Project

“Happiness is a very small desk and a very big wastebasket"

Robert Orben

 



This desk was destined for the recycle centre. It's where most desks go to die. Bigger then the computer desks of today & weighing about as much as a small car, it held our first home computer in my parents house and was assembled backwards by my brother. The keyboard drawer wouldn't pull out fully, the CD rack was the wrong way around and it caressed the dust of almost 20 bygone years in its hidden crevices.

 

Grey 90's desk 

 

"They just don't make 'em like this anymore"

 I started enthusiastically reducing part of it to its former flat pack state in order to reassemble correctly, however after four hours on the floor surrounded by wood and bolts I caved and let my husband try. It was like an evil jig-saw. We finally got it back together. There was one screw left over of course, there always is... 

 



floral sticky back plastic/paper




I found some rolls of really vintage looking sticky back plastic (feels like paper) in a discount store for just 1.49 a roll.

I roughly measured the top of the desk and used a sharp craft knife to tidy off the edges. I couldn't find a co-ordinating paper for the shelf so I went to get some free wallpaper samples I chose a duck egg blue textured piece and used decoupage glue and varnish for this. The air bubbles were a nightmare but persistence pays off, layer upon layer of decoupage varnish and the odd pin hole to disperse the air seems to have worked.

 

 



Much nicer!



For the edges, I used floral paper sticky tape then simply decoupage varnished it to finish.

I have a few desks in my studio but this is now my favourite. Perfect for crochet, I can start a project then slide the drawer in until next time. My laptop fits neatly in there too. Oh and my laptop bag sits perfectly on the bottom!

 

 

Fantastically Floral!

Check out http://www.tapeswell.com/ for awesome tape!