No, this isn’t my desk! I’m not trying to deceive you, it’s just very difficult to get a decent photo of my north-facing office, as you will see below. And let’s face it, how many of us work in particularly photogenic spaces, even after a workspace revamp?
Practicality takes precedence, and we do our best within those limits. It was practicality rather than aesthetics that years ago led me to buy a secondhand desk pedestal in rather bland beech veneer. It was an absolute bargain, very good quality, in perfect condition, and bearing a label that shows it originally belonged to Marks & Spencer!
Having embarked on a workspace revamp to de-brown my office by swapping my wooden table for a white desk and painting my kneeling chair with white chalk paint, the pedestal looked duller than ever.
I briefly considered painting it with chalk paint, but it wasn’t the look I wanted, and I didn’t think it would stand up to the constant handling that drawers get.
I was wary of spray painting it myself, as I’ve never done it before and was concerned the finish might end up uneven or wear badly, and just become a bigger task to sort out.
A bit of research online showed that I could replace it with a smaller, brightly-coloured pedestal of much lower quality that didn’t have the drawer configuration I wanted, or pay almost £300 for a comparable coloured cabinet.
Fortunately a friend spotted Project X Coatings, a short drive away in Corsham. Their tagline is Almost Anything Sprayed and you can see before, during and after shots of their work on their Facebook page.
They asked for photos and measurements of the drawers, and then sent me a very clear and detailed quote based on the size of the area to be painted. I was able to choose how glossy/matt I wanted the paint, and pick a colour from a wide range of colour charts.
I chose a greyish blue, as I thought more white would be a bit glacial in the winter. It wasn’t until later that I realised it’s close to the shade of the Bright & Good logo!
The pedestal was first taken apart, so that no bits were missed, and sprayed with a prime coat. Then the top coat was applied, and after it had dried and hardened sufficiently I went back to pick it up.
It cost me £70, which I think is very reasonable for the quality of the work and service, and to renovate a good quality piece of furniture that works well for me. The finish is excellent – smooth, hardwearing, easily wipeable, and you’d never know it wasn’t the original colour.
It’s a great solution for other office furniture like filing cabinets and cupboards that are a significant part of your decor and get a lot of use. Don’t live with a dreary corporate-looking piece for years like I did!
The total cost of my workspace revamp:
IKEA Linnmon desktop and Adils table legs £15.00 plus spray painting of pedestal £69.90 = £84.90
I painted the kneeling chair with Annie Sloan chalk paint from a previous furniture painting project, and the little dark blue Indian rug wasn’t big enough for its intended purpose and was rolled up in the cupboard.
(Top photo by Elsa Noblet on Unsplash)
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