Paris Chic Secretary

This secretary desk has been in my stash for months, and all along I thought I would paint it white. But as I prepping the desk, the Paris shootings occurred, and all of my initial plans went right out the window.

It needed to be a Paris "Chic" secretary, so I pulled out my can of Annie Sloan Paris Grey and went to work. When I refinish secretary desks, I usually take everything apart: doors, shelves, backing, the insert and fretwork. This involves a TON of work, but I think this makes a huge difference in the end result. But this secretary had fixed fretwork and I so I had to carefully paint the fretwork while it was in place on the door.

I wanted a little pop of color and so I painted the interior in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg. The entire piece was sealed with clear and dark waxes. The dark wax added character and a natural patina to the little nicks that I intentionally left alone.

I decided to use the original hardware, but give it a little of bling! After I cleaned and primed the handles, I sprayed them in Rustoleum Metallic Finish and then gave them a coat of clear polyurethane spray for protection.

I wanted the insert to coordinate with the silver handles, so I used Rub 'n Buff in Silver Leaf on the edges. This was my first time using this product, and there was a little bit of a learning curve. I initially started using a little artist's brush for application, but found that I had more control by just using a small dab of it on the tip of my finger. I let it dry for a few hours, and then gently buffed the edges for shine! And for the final touch, I lined the small drawers with really pretty card stock I found at Joann's. 

I think this secretary desk turned out beautiful! It was as if it was always destined to have a little bit of "ooh la la"! And the white secretary desk, that was supposed to be? Well that's another project that I'll be sharing soon!

And while we're on the subject of secretary desks, I was so excited to have been asked to put together a board about secretary desk makeovers for Hometalk. Each of these desks show how with a little bit of paint and imagination, you can update a classic and timeless piece of furniture to fit today's modern lifestyles and decor! Stop on by and have a peek!

Have a great day!

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