Upcycled Furniture: Vintage Family Desk

I met some new friends at Haven this year. Swooz, Tracie and Sarah represented Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint at this year’s DIY conference. You might recognize the name from the TV show Salvage Dawgs. So I was thrilled to spend some time with this creative trio discussing the revival of vintage pieces and antiques with the help of incredible quality paint in fascinating colors.

You can tell a person who loves and lives their product when the passion flows from every word. Such is the case with Swooz, who is responsible for the lovely colors and re-release of the Salvage Dog Furniture Paint line. This paint was designed to reignite salvaged pieces. It is actually formulated to cover any surface. Antique and vintage metals, wood, and even masonry are all fair game.. And the colors are simply fabulous. The website sports recipes for all of the recommended colors and you can take it a step farther by using their true white and black to deepen or lighten any color. With a garage full of antique and vintage lovelies ready to be revived, I’ve found a treasure.

As a Haven attendee, I received a sample of Salvage Dog Furniture Paint. Here is that project using Galvanized.

After using the paint just once, I knew I needed more! So I requested a fabulous color for a new and very special project. This post is about that project. At the end, I will include my affiliate link so you, too, can try this fabulous paint at a discounted price.

Revive a Sentimental Piece with Paint!

The fact is that you can’t beat the quality of a vintage desk. Take this desk for example.

This was one of my first thrift store furniture purchases ever. When we moved to Alabama 20 years ago, we needed a desk to house our family computer so that the kids could efficiently do their homework. So I checked out my newly discovered treasure trove known as the local thrift store. I’m sure I only paid around $25 for this desk. I wish I had taken a photo of it at purchase. Being the daughter of a craftsman, I new and appreciated a solid oak and well constructed piece of furniture when I saw it. And this baby had great bones beneath the worn and shabby surface.

Pop, my dad, was a carpenter by trade and a self proclaimed master of all trades. The fourth child of eight of a working class Irish immigrant couple, Pop learned his skills from his grandfather, a cabinet maker and craftsman, who lived with them when Pop was a child.

Pop’s older brother, Uncle Jack still tells stories of how he and Pop would climb ladders and act as their grandfather’s laborers all the while renovating their North Philadelphia row home to accommodate all of the children and adults in the extended family.

On his first visit to our new home in Alabama, Pop immediately spotted the desk sitting in the garage. He decided that this would be his first project for our new home. So, he stripped the desk and refinished it in a golden oak stain. I grabbed some brass handles from Walmart and an oak hutch from the thrift store and we had a beautiful new desk with plenty of storage. We used that desk for 20 years. Last November I updated the dining room and moved the desk to our office.

You can see from the photos below that this desk was well used.

There are scratches on the drawers from where the handles came loose and spun in circles etching through the wooden surface.

The polyurethane coat that Pop had applied is peeling off.

Thank the good Lord for solid oak quality furniture that withstands the wear and tear of rambunctious and demanding children and a large family. This is one sturdy desk. And my plan is to revive it with the skills that Pop taught me years ago by updating the look and making it my own in a tribute to the first upcycler I ever knew.

Selecting a Color

Looking at Black Dog Salvage Dog Furniture Paint’s colors for the first time is like strolling through the high end shoe department before selecting a prom dress. The possibilities are endless! With 16 eye catching base colors, the beauty of Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint is that you can literally create any color your heart desires. And they provide recipes for combining the paints to create that perfect color.

I love a nice bold color. And I usually trend toward the cool colors. So when I eyeballed the color recipes on the Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint website, I found a beauty of which I know Pop would approve.

Here is a link to the color choices and paint recipes. And here is the color page from which I selected a color for this desk:

Can you guess which color I am mixing? I don’t think you will guess because, surprisingly, it is not blue! It is Emerald City! And it’s a close enough match to Pop’s favorite color of Kelly Green. Just about every wooden object Pop painted, was painted Kelly Green. Green fences, green chairs. Green everything. When he bought my childhood home in 1961, Pop selected a green and white awning for the front porch. So when I spotted the greens on the paint recipes above, my heart warmed. Emerald City was perfect!

Always Prep Your Piece

I have been painting furniture for well over 30 years. But I’m not too old to be reminded of important steps. I also welcome advice on how to improve my skills. I got both from Swooz.

I admit that there was a time when I took every shortcut imaginable to paint a piece of furniture. But one thing you learn quickly is that your paint showcases so much better when you apply it to a clean piece of furniture. Clean your piece first to remove surface dirt and excess grime. Clean with TSP, tri-sodium phosphate. I always sand to smooth the surface and clean again with TSP to ensure the surface is clean. You can buy TSP as a premixed liquid or in powdered form to mix yourself. Both work. It is simply a personal preference.

For this desk, after cleaning with TSP I lightly sanded the entire surface with my electric sander. I used a sanding block to get the curved edges.

I went heavier on the desk top and the drawer fronts because I was considering using a stain on these areas.

Rather than have to resand later, I just sanded these areas more thoroughly to completely strip all of the old finish. So, if I do decide on stain, the top and fronts are ready to go.

I also used some warm soapy water to clean the interior of the desk and the drawers. TSP will work here too. Since the furniture was from my own home, I used Murphy’s Oil Soap.

My go to is Murphy’s Oil Soap because is it a wonderful product that nourishes/feeds the wood and it smells great!

The final step was to again wipe down the desk with TSP. TSP removes all traces of grime and oils so that the paint or stain will bond with the wood and allow the paint or stain to adhere and display appropriately.

Once dry, the desk is ready for paint.

Adding Additional Interest

Pop always spoke fondly of his job as a young man as a piano refinisher. I have vivid memories of him in the basement of our home in Philadelphia stripping and staining wood and creating beautiful finishes. No doubt that is where my love of wood and gorgeous finishes began. So, I decided at the beginning of this project, that as a tribute to Pop, it is only fitting that this desk will sport his favorite color and complimentary tones of gorgeous wood.

Follow the Manufacturer’s Instructions

I followed the recommended instructions for applying Black Dog Salvage Paint. Always! Always! Always, follow the recommended manufacturer’s instruction for paint products. What makes each and every paint product special is it’s qualities that are unique to its brand! Black Dog Salvage is no different! They provide wonderful instructions. Follow the instructions to fully realize the essence of this paint. Their website is full of suggestions, instructions, videos and incredible inspiration.

I mixed appropriate amounts of Go Green and Keep It Teal together following the brand instructions. My Emerald Green was ready.

I applied two coats of Emerald Green allowing at least 4 hours between coats. I had quite a bit of life issues during this project (I started back to work full time outside of the home and helped move a newly married daughter to Houston) so there was quite the dry time between coats. Coverage was very smooth and absolutely gorgeous. After prepping wood to be painted, there is an enlightening aura about applying that first swoosh of the loaded brush to the wood. And Salvage Dog Furniture Paint went on like a dream.

The rich and creamy Emerald City was magic on that wood. Two coats were needed with a 4 hour dry time between. Don’t mind the desk positioned on its side. I’m working in a smaller space so I tend to move the piece around for convenience.

I lightly sanded a few spots between coats. I allowed the second coat to dry for 24 hours and then applied 2 coats of Show Dog Top Coat with another 24 hours dry time between the coats. Show Dog is Black Dog Furniture Paint’s durable non-yellowing top coat. I am anxious to try this next on some white finishes.

I was tempted to use the Emerald Green as a wash for the drawers but decided to go with a stain stripe. It’s true to Pop’s genuine respect for wood. And, this presents another opportunity to use this glorious color for a future wash project. Emerald City is a festive color and the winter holidays are fast approaching. (check back for another Emerald Green project in the near future)!

Show Dog does not change the color of the paint. As you can see in the photo above, it makes the color a little bit richer.

I used Frog Tape to section off the stripes for my drawers.

I used gel stains for this project to reduce the risk of the stain seeping under the tape and creating unclear lines.

You could, I am certain, use washed down versions of Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint instead of stain. Hmmm…I’m adding this to my future project list. I used 2 different stains that I had on hand. The third color was simply the natural stripped wood. I will do a separate post about how to create stripes with stain as there is a definite art to that process.

The stained stripes were a perfect compliment to one another and meshed fabulously with my Emerald Green. I topped the drawers off with two coats of Show Dog, again allowing 24 hour dry time between coats. There is truly nothing like applying a gorgeous clear top coat to both unfinished and stained wood. The top coat simply brings the wood to life. And once again, Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint did not disappoint.

The hardware I ordered was on back order so I simply grabbed some Rustoleum spray paint to give the tired handles as new look.

Finishing the Top

Originally I thought I would stain the top of the desk. I prepped toward that goal. I even gave the top a coat of Show Dog.

But there was just something about that vibrant Emerald green that made me want more.

So I gave the top an additional TSP bath and proceeded to finish her in the lovely Emerald City.

True to Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint’s promise, the paint adhered beautifully without an additional sanding. This made me so happy!

And here she is, Pop’s desk aka Wild Willy from Philly…

I think he would love it! How about you?

I will be trying some more of this paint on some vintage items made from various materials. I can’t wait to explore the colors. Here is my affiliate link should you want to try Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint for your self. Use THIS LINK to shop for paint. And use code SHOPATBLU for 20% off.