How to Upcycle an Old Desk

Creating a lovely space for working from home can be a fun project but buying new furniture can be expensive. I wanted the furniture in my home office space to be quirky and cool so I learnt how to upcycle an old desk. It gave an unloved piece of furniture a new lease of life. And gave me a lovely surface to work on.

Goodbye to My Ikea Desk

Before I had my babies, I ran my business from a bedroom on our first floor landing. It was a lovely room; chock-full of all of my work stuff; samples, paper-stock, cutting board, printer — and a HUGE desk. 

But when we found out I was pregnant we decided that this particular room would make the perfect nursery; so bit by bit my workroom was disassembled and shipped out — in boxes — to my husband’s office.

As a result, my Mac lost its permanent home and was given ‘temporary’ residence on an uninspiring IKEA shelving unit in the dining room. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I love IKEA.

Not a whole houseful of it, granted, as you’d end up feeling as though you were living in one of their stores, but used sparingly it is fabulous (plus I’m obsessed with their meatballs.

Horse or not, they are the most delicious thing to come out of Sweden. Apart from Dime Bars).

That said, the white Ikea desk — that was originally bought to dress our stand when we exhibited at the NEC — was never meant to furnish our home and certainly not a piece that I wanted on permanent display.

And not only that, trying to design — using a mouse — when you don’t have a proper, decent sized, desk-top is a nightmare.

So my mission was to create myself an upcycled desk from an old, unloved vintage desk.

Here’s what I did:

How I Upcycled My Desk

1. Bought a lovely, solid oak, desk off Ebay; a little bit tired and in need of some love and attention… but with BAGS of potential.
2. I bought some paint and some furniture wax.
3. Took the old handles off.
4. Sanded the entire desk with fine grade wire wool. Then waxed it.
5. Got my glamorous assistant to drill new holes for the new handles.
6. Painted and waxed the drawer fronts.
7. Added the new handles.
8. The insides of the drawers were a little bit dusty and rough…
9. So I lined them with some gorgeous, vintage airmail stamp paper.
10. Et voila. My beautiful new old desk!

I’m so happy with it.
It doesn’t look quite as tidy now it’s got all my stuff on it but hey. You can’t have everything!! ;)

How To Create a Vintage Desk With Chalk Paint

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Difficulty: Medium

Estimated Cost: Under £100

Create a beautiful and stylish vintage desk by learning how to upcycle an old piece of furniture.

Print

Materials

• Old Desk
• Chalk Paint
• Furniture Wax
• New Handles
• Pretty Wrapping Paper

Tools

• Fine Grade Wire Wool
• Screwdriver
• Drill

Instructions

1. I bought an old desk from Ebay.
   
   
   
   
2. Removed the drawers and took the old handles off.
   
   
   
   
3. Sanded the body and drawers of the desk with wire wool.
   
   
   
   
4. Marked up and drilled holes in the drawers for the new handles.
   
   
   
5. Painted the drawers with chalk paint
   
   
   
6. Put on the new handles.
   
   
   
   
7. Wax the entire surface of the desk.
   
8. Line the insides of the drawers with pretty paper
   
   
   
   
9. Et voila. My beautiful vintage desk is finished!
   
   
   
   
   
   

Caro Davies

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Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.

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