I love the combination of wood and paint on furniture pieces.  The paint gives the furniture a much-needed update and keeping some of the wood gives it the feel of old and also adds warmth by keeping some of the wood exposed.  I am sharing a simple DIY desk makeover using an ombre stain finish. 

This desk was in great shape, not like most of the pieces I get for makeovers.  It was in great shape because of who owned it, my neighbors.  They were getting rid of the desk and gave it to me, thanks, Burt and Judy!

If you like all wood pieces, this was in perfect shape to keep as is, except I had to take it up a level and give it an ombre stain and some paint. 

I started by lightly sanding down the drawers and top, just enough to remove the varnish.  I then applied Early Amercian stain to the top drawers, Special Walnut stain to the second row, and Dark Walnut stain to the top and bottom drawers.  

You can read all about how to stain without stripping from my last post if you want to know all the details.  

I painted the base of the desk with General Finishes Milk paint in Queenstown Gray, sealed with High-Performance flat and finished with glaze effects in pitch black. 

I painted the chair the same as the desk and reupholstered the seat with some leftover fabric that I had from my custom-made tote bag.  

You can read all about the details on how to reupholster a chair from this post.  

I finished the original hardware pieces with my go to finish in brushed metallic.  Do you want to learn how to finish furniture hardware?  I will show you 4 different finishes and give you the step by step instructions in my online video.  

 

This desk sold right away and I know why.  She was in great shape and she has an updated new look for her next home.