I found a vintage spinet desk on Facebook marketplace for only $20.00. Sure it needed a wee bit of work, but when do I ever buy something that doesn’t? Here’s how I completed this vintage spinet desk makeover.
A Little History
What is a spinet desk, you may ask? I know I did. It is a desk that when is closed, resembles a spinet – a musical instrument. A spinet desk has a hinged top that folds back and reveals a writing desk inside.
The Desk Transformation
The desk had a piece broken off the front of the drawer and the block on one side had fallen off. Luckily the seller had the pieces, so I didn’t think it would be too hard to repair.
Here is a before picture of the desk.
A few simple repairs and a little paint transformed this twenty dollar desk into such a cute accent piece for my home.
I just glued the pieces on and clamped for 24 hours. The spot on the drawer was a little uneven, so I filled it in with spackle. After I sanded it smooth, it was barely noticeable. However, this spot on the drawer meant it needed to be painted instead of stained.
I used a white chalk paint, lightly distressed it with sand paper, and sealed it with clear wax.
Such a cute desk, but the drawer was just a little plain. I love opening a drawer and finding something pretty inside.
Adding some pretty book pages was just what it needed. I used starch to adhere the pages. A super simple project that I will be sharing in another post soon. I also tea stained the pages for a more vintage look.
This turned out to be the perfect place to display some of my recently inherited treasures.
Styling the Desk
My parents moved to a new house, and had many boxes of old books and all kinds of post cards and travel brochures that had belonged to my grandmother. I was happy to be the caretaker of those things for a while.
The botanicals here are antique post cards from Yellowstone Park. The silver page holder and scissors were also among my Grandmother’s belongings.
The dish, also my grandmother’s, holds antique post card books from France.
I can’t explain it, but antique paper items just make my heart sing! I love the look of it, the stories behind it, and the romance of it all. I can spend hours looking at handwritten recipe cards, vintage post cards and greeting cards, old documents and the such. Sigh.
As we all know, one project, more likely than not, leads to another. Getting this corner the way I wanted it required several other projects.
I will be doing posts sharing these projects. The posts will include a three part series on the desk makeover and how I added these windows to create the perfect backdrop for the desk.
- Spinet Desk Makeover Part 2 – How to tea stain book pages
- Spinet Desk Makeover Part 3 – How to line a drawer with book pages using starch
- How to add privacy film to an antique window
- How to hang an antique window
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