Beachy Desk + Chair

Last summer I collected a bunch of pieces from garage sales and neatly stacked them in a storage room in my basement (to be forgotten).  I can't keep justifying buying more pieces if I already have a room full.  So I started to dig into it and found this desk.

I am pretty sure I paid $2 for it.  The top had veneer that was bubbling a little.  I was going to try to potentially fix it with some glue, but you can see on the left of the photo above I was able to stick a putty knife under it pretty easy so I removed it.

The wood underneath was so much more interesting than the veneer which almost looked like laminate.  There were a few spots that just wouldn't come off and I wound up sanding them off.  Actually I used the sander on it and the heat from it melted the glue and the pieces fell off.  

The wood was marked up either from me taking the veneer off or just not being the best condition prior to getting veneered.  I thought it looked like barn wood or drift wood.  After I sanded it smooth I looked up the recipe to stain it to get that grey weathered wood look.  I went by what both Bell Jar Vintage and Addicted 2 Decorating wrote about.

I used a 0000 steel wool pad and put it in a container with apple cider vinegar and waited a day.  I brushed the solution on and it turned a darker brown.  I remembered that I was supposed to use brewed tea so I brushed that on next. It took a few hours, but the wood turned a nice weathered grey color.

I painted the base of it with two coats of Federal Blue SafePaint (milk paint) from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company.  It doesn't chip off as it is meant to be used on walls.  I distressed it and the combo of the blue paint and wood color looked so beachy to me--which I love.

I always like to have a chair to go with a desk and I had this one I got from the trash last year that was also stacked in my storage room.  I painted it with two coats of DIY chalk paint in white.

I wanted to make a seat that I could cover with fabric, but since the chair was not meant to have one, the seat is curved so when I put the wood on top there was a gap and you could see the holes from the caning. 

After some thought, I moved on to plan b and got out my jute rope and started weaving it through the holes.  I had to pull it out twice and start over, but was able to create a basket weave somewhat like the original cane seat.  It took about an hour to do.  I sat on it a bunch of times to make sure it will hold and it is strong!  I wouldn't recommend standing on it as I am sure it will break, but so would (did) the cane.

I thought it came out pretty cool!  My original intention was still to cover it with fabric, but I didn't know how to get around the back of the chair, so I left it.

In the end I think the combo of the natural jute and weathered wood and the paint is really cool and has such a beachy vibe.

Linking to:
I Heart Naptime | Silver Pennies | Craft-O-Maniac | Dwellings | I Should Be Mopping The Floor | Homemaker On A Dime | Life On Lakeshore Drive | Classy Clutter | Coastal Charm | Better With Age | Cozy Little House | My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia | Lolly Jane | Today's Creative Blog | Kammy's Korner | PJH Designs | twelveOeight | Kathe With An E | Elizabeth & Co. | Hickory Trail | The Winthrop Chronicles | Not Just A Housewife | Love Bakes Good Cakes | If It's Not Baroque... | The DIY Dreamer | Savvy Southern Style | Fluster Buster | Southern Lovely | Real Housewives of Riverton | Mom On Timeout | Saving 4 Six | Beyond The Picket Fence | A Creative Princess | House Of Hepworths | The Shabby Creek Cottage | All Things With Purpose | Lamberts Lately | I Gotta Create | Miss Mustard Seed | Crafty Scrappy Happy | The Shabby Nest | A Peek Into My Paradise | Funky Junk | Too Much Time On My Hands | Fox Hollow Cottage | Thrifty Decor Chick | Lilyfield Life | The Dedicated House | The Happy Housie | Restoration Redoux

Featured by:
Kammy's Korner
Real Housewives of Riverton