The Desk.....First of Many Projects....Or Is It....

Well I have to say this project is not going as I expected. Talk about obstacles. Wednesday I decided would be a good day to strip back my desk which I've been meaning to do for the last few years and revamp it so it looks like new. Bec was at Bumble Bee for the day, Luke was at Intework for the day as well so I had all day to get it done. Everything started out great, went to Bunnings to get some more sandpaper and paint and then came home and made a start. Sanded back the desk and drawers which took a while and even though it was quite a hot day it was surprisingly cool under the carport, stopped and had some lunch about 1pm and then started the painting. The painting.....that was an experience! I haven't worked with gloss paint before and I had heard it could get tricky and that sure is right. I decided to do the drawers first because they're small and wouldn't take too long and I have to say they look amazing in their Antique White U.S.A Dulux colour. So with the drawers done and drying I moved onto the desk itself. (I'm still shaking my head) I now realise why the lady at Bunnings said I may need 3 coats of paint. While the first coat went on ok I can definitely see that working with gloss is a lot different to working with low sheen paint which is what I'm used to. Luke arrived home just as I was finishing the first coat on the desk and by this time it was 3pm, my back was really starting to ache from bending to sand the desk and then sitting on the driveway (which is extremely uneven, damn cobblestone paving) to do the actual painting as I didn't have anything to raise the height of the desk so I didn't have to sit on the ground. So being that it was 3pm, I decided I'd better start packing up and go and pick Bec up from Bumble Bee as by this time it was now 37 degrees and very hot. As I was packing up Luke was asking me about something that I can't even remember now because as he was talking to me I picked up the tin of paint to move it and guess what happened.........yep you guessed it...I dropped the tin and lost about three quarters of the paint!! Needless to say I was not impressed after sweating my butt off all day, the drawers look great, the desk looks...like it still needs a lot of work and I'm not happy with the way it is at the moment and now I've lost almost all of my paint. So I put the lid on the tin while cursing under my breath and trying not to turn into my Dad, packed up, washed what paint I could off myself and went to get Bec.

So now my desk has been sitting under the carport for the last two days because I've ended up throwing my back out big time and just simply can't bend over any more, plus I don't have enough paint to finish it now so I'm still not happy with the way it's looking. Now I really understand why Sarah (from Sarah's House) sends things out to be done by the professionals, no frustration from doing stupid things like dropping the paint, no throwing your back out from sitting on the ground and bending over half the morning and no wanting to hurl the drawers and paint down the driveway because things aren't working out!! (that's doing a John Bergeron, my Dad.....I'm turning into him the older I get I swear...) So now I'm trying to decide do I finish it, partly because it's an old desk any way and is a bit banged up and partly because I now have an incredibly sore back to the point I could barely sleep last night. However I don't like leaving things half done but am now wondering if the cost is going to be more (due to paint spillage grrr and the fact I may never stand upright again) than if I went and bought a new desk. Think I will have to think on it a bit more.

Check out the photos below and tell me what you think.

My desk/work space area on Wednesday morning.

The beginning of the revamp. 

Half way through, completely sanded, ready for painting.

This morning, still just first coat of paint.

The drawers that come out fantastically. You can see where
paint was spilled because it ended up in the middle drawer.

Maybe it's not as bad as I'm thinking and it's just the sore back talking and the heat getting to me but I'm just still disappointed with the way the desk looks (and yes I know it's not finished), this is where I can be a perfectionist. I don't like things half done and if it doesn't go how I want it to then I usually start all over again. Starting again isn't really an option so it'll either be finish it or find a new desk, will keep you posted.