My Daughter’s Desk

I live in Japan and it is a tradition to buy your kids a "study desk" when they enter elementary school. Big tradition! I'm talking rows or study desks in furniture shops right before the new school year.

We bought this desk for my daughter when she was 6, and she mostly used it for "not studying" until the end of junior high. High school starts at 10th grade over here and she asked me if I could turn the desk into a makeup desk.

I did, she loves it, and this is my entry into the "For the Home" contest.

-orbital sander

-paint brushes

-sand paper: #100, #120, #240

-pink paint

-Annie Sloan Antoinette (pink chalk paint)

-Annie Sloan clear wax

-white paint

-polyurethane top coat

-medium brown varnish

-knobs

These are pictures of the desk and matching cabinet in elementary school and junior high school. Time Flies!

I sanded the finish off of the desk and cabinet starting with #100 sandpaper and working up to #240. I bought an awesome looking chair to paint too. I’m a big fan of Annie Sloan and saw a video of her painting a chair. I thought “no way will that last,” and I was right. It lasted maybe a year. More on the chair later.

I painted the desk top, cabinet top and drawer fronts with a water based medium brown furniture varnish. I’m not a fan of water based varnishes and this was my first time using one. Maybe the brand? It didn’t stink nearly as bad as oil based, but it wasn’t as easy as oil based to apply, and it was more expensive. It was like painting with honey. I’m happy with the finish, but probably won’t use it again.

I used a silicone resin type paint for the inside and underside of the drawers, and I painted on two coats of polyurethane top coat.

I used pink furniture paint for the base of the table and cabinet.

I found these knobs on Amazon Japan and they are adorable! They’re really heavy and feel like quality. I bought similar knobs for a separate project on AliExpress and they’re the same knobs. Check out Ali if you like these.

I varnished the base of the chair, painted it with Annie Sloan Antoinette chalk paint, and sealed it with the Annie Sloan clear wax. It looked awesome for about a year, and then it started to get some wear and tear. Not too bad, but I ended up giving the chair away and buying a new one. Has anyone had any luck chalk painting chairs?

She loves it! It’s amazing what a little paint and varnish will do.