The diamonds drove us crazy and nearly defeated us. More on that later.
We acquired this lady’s writing desk on an estate sale’s final day. We’d first laid eyes on her a couple days earlier and expected someone to snap her up. Imagine our surprise (and my secret happiness) when we returned for deep discounts and there she sat, lonely and neglected. No question about it. She was coming home with us.
Her body is exceptionally narrow. With the lid closed, she measures 11″ at her widest part. That’s a big positive for the owner of a small house or apartment needing a petite desk. I also love her convenient pigeonholes.
Lithe and beautiful, that’s what she is. Just look at those details.
I checked with our furniture expert and learned that she was made around the 1900s, probably birch wood and stained mahogany. Ohhhhhhh. We prefer not to paint antiques.
David and I tossed around some ideas. But first he needed to do a few minor repairs and replace the old, worn-out hinges.
We decided to paint her something special, something that would make her the most attractive girl in town.
Annie Sloan’s new Burgundy paint was perfect. For a contrasting interior color we chose Aubusson Blue. Wait. How about stenciling diamonds with the Aubusson and gold? How hard could that be?
I love the Burgundy. Annie Sloan compares it to dark cherries. Personally, I see it as a bowl of juicy, ripe plums on a sizzling summer day. The color looks unbelievably rich once the Dark Wax goes on.
I studied videos and read blogs to learn about diamond techniques. I began enthusiastically, confident in my abilities. By Day 3 my enthusiasm shrank to crankiness. No matter how hard I tried, my diamonds refused to follow a straight line. Thankfully, David stepped in to save the day.
He salvaged most of my diamonds and carefully traced the outlines for new ones.
Here’s the board that flips outward. See how he’s using painter’s tape for the points of the diamonds?
The full writing surface is below. He struggled with those diamonds for a few days and was so happy to finish them.
While David worked on the diamonds, I painted gold stockings on our little lady:
It took us weeks to get her looking glamorous. Look at these details:
I just want to mention that the lowering of her lovely lid provides a writing surface but throws her off balance. She must be affixed to the wall for maximum support, but that’s not a big deal. Another thought: while I used AS Clear and Dark Wax on the exterior and pigeonholes, I only used Clear Wax on the Aubusson and Gold diamonds.
Look at her gold stockings! Imagine sitting here with your laptop, drink in hand, taking care of business as twilight descends. The creek is just a few yards away.
I have the perfect chair for this desk but that will take more time because I must reupholster the seat and paint the chair. As for this little lady, she’s heading to Avonlea Antique Mall tomorrow.
Thanks so much for visiting. We love it when you leave comments.
Ann Marie and David
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