Desk Re-Decorating

Jul 31, 2018
3 min read

These drawers were the result of several days labour and lots of turquoise and white paint. I had the idea to paint them after surfing through Pintrest and stumbled upon some geometric drawers(link to picture). I really liked the look of them and realised i had an ugly chest of drawers just waiting to be redone in my room.

The original piece was wooden with bubble legs and a strange shaped front piece between the drawers. I emptied out the chest of drawers and brought it downstairs...

First i started with the drawers, i took them outside into my garden and removed the handles. It is important to wear spare clothes or clothing protectors so your clothes are not ruined with saw dust or paint. Once i was changed, i got out the electric sander and went to town, you need to sand away the old varnish so the new paint will have something to stick to. Once all the drawers were nicely sanded; i got out a white primer paint and gave each drawer two layers(leaving the appropriate drying time).

Once the primer was fully dry, i took my white and turquoise paints and painted half the drawers white and the other turquoise, adding coats until they were opaque. I chose these colours as they were the same colours as the walls of my room.

Next it was time to make the pattern. To begin with i put masking tape around the rims of the drawers. Then i started placing random lengths and angles of overlapping masking tape over the main surface to create the geometric design. To keep the drawers slightly consistent i only added 5 lengths of making tape on each.Once the tape is put on you need to make sure it is pressed down really well.

Then it was time to start painting. Taking the opposite colour to the base of the drawer, i added a thick coat of the paint trying to make it as opaque as i could in the one coat but not putting too much on. You need to remove the masking tape when the drawer is half dry, as when you take it off early the paint is wet so will splurge out-and when the paint id too dry when the tape is removed it takes chunks of the paint away with it(much like with nail art).

Once this layer was dry neatened up the lines with a smaller flat paintbrush and small amounts of the paint. Once i was happy, i went out and bought some new handles that would fit the new scheme and match my wardrobe handles. I bought some oval metal ones.

Then it was time to move to the body of the drawers. Again, i started by sanding the entire surface, including the sides and the inside cave area. Then it was time for some de-construction, i removed the strange curly shaped front piece between the drawers (as it clashed with the angular paint design) and replaced it with a plank of wood cut down to size and glued with wood glue and held into place by clamps as it dried. I also removed its bubble legs and replaced them with pieces of a handrail i found(these were screwed on from the inside). The final adjustment made was the addition of a shelf between the columns of drawers, my dad helped with this. After sanding the new components, i gave it coat of primer followed by about 3 coats of gloss paint. Then finally it was finnished and i assembled it, amazing!