Writing Bureau Makeover

Yesterday I managed to finish painting my second piece of furniture which is a writing bureau.  I didn't go in the shop with the intention of buying this but when I saw it I just loved it, I did need something for the corner of my dining room with storage and this was perfect.

I chose a pale grey for this which is called light rain, it is very light and I was expecting a darker shade based on the sample piece in the shop.  The next shade up in this paint was too dark though and I didn't want it looking drab.

So as you can see a very pale colour, my walls are a soft white but the bureau is not very different from them.

I had thought about painting the inside but decided against that as I intend this will get a lot of use I think the finish that is already on will probably be more durable.  I gave it a good clean and added a bit of paper but not on all of the desk as it has a leather inset which you can't quite see in the photo.

While the colour is not quite what I imagined I am happy with it, it was quite battered before I sanded and painted it so now it does look like new on the outside at least.  I intend to keep a lot of my craft stuff in here as it has nice deep drawers and there is a bag of crochet hooks and wool on the floor beside it in the picture that will be going in the bottom drawer!

Here is the before picture, it was a lovely colour wood but in such a state it couldn't have been left as it was.

There were notches in the top that had to be filled and chips and dints everywhere.

I was going to spray the handles silver, but as the colour is so pale I am leaving them black as they stand out well on the new colour.  I am happy that this is another piece of furniture that has been saved and we didn't go and buy new.  My only worry is that as more people do this the second hand shops are starting to put up the prices which may mean that some people think what is the point when you can buy new cheaper.   In a lot of cases yes you can but it is mass produced, often poor quality and the furniture which is already out there is being discarded.   I hope the trend to upcycle continues, it is sad to think of all those items that are going to waste.

The two pieces of furniture I painted over the last two days both came from St Lukes Hospice Shop I also got the lamp which is on top of the bureau, so the purchases also contributed to charity.