The Desk Reveal

Remember the campaign desk I scored on kijiji?

She was is pretty rough shape, but I thought there may a gem hidden

 below that horrible, beat up mahogany finish.

Well, it took a LOT of elbow grease...

and I have to say I panicked a bit when after the first hours of stripping had only got to this stage...

I discovered, along the way, 

that furniture stripping in the sun means that the stripper dries before it has time to work properly,

and that a kitchen scrub brush is the most effective tool you can use!

Eventually we got to this.

Sanded and ready to be oiled.

There is three different types of wood here - 

oak with a cherry inlaid top,

and walnut legs.

I had considered painting the desk, 

but really liked the look of the wood when it was raw,

and wanted to keep it in this state.

But the wood was really dry, as old wood often is.

So I oiled it.

Have you ever done this?

It has the consistency of olive oil oil, becomes really tacky as it dries, and offers a low lustre sheen without changing the color of the wood.

The desk received three coats to offer up a little more protection,

with a day of drying time in between each coat.

And this is the end result:

The brass hardware is slightly burnished from time, and I love the patina it has, so I left it alone.

The only thing left to do is line the drawers, I have something special in mind, show you when they are done.

Not too bad for $150, is it?!

I've been using one of our dining chairs here and actually quite like it, 

so two of the armchairs versions have been ordered from restoration hardware...

perfect because when we have a large group we can pull them into the dining room.

The hydrangeas are from the garden.

Planted 10 hydrangeas out front last summer, 

and now there's heaps of them throughout the house - so wonderful :)

Note I've only shown you the desk from one angle, 

because my bookshelves have yet to be styled and are looking a wee bit cluttered!

The chippendale sofa in the room is being re-upholstered, 

and I'm going to try my hand at painting a sisal carpet for the floor.

 Hope to have it all spiffy shortly, and will share the whole room!

But how about that desk?!

What do you think? 

I think it's a keeper.