Less shabby, more chic

My boyfriend and I have been having a bit of a "desk-off" recently. It started when I bought a small desk from Ikea. He then put his printer on it. So I bought another one, the same style so they would look like one big desk. The idea being that we could both use it, but as we were using it for completely different things, it just didn't work and looked a complete mess.

Whilst scouring eBay in search of something pretty and compact, that would fit in an alcove in our living room, I found this.....

.....not very pretty but it ticks two out of three boxes, and best of all it only cost £5! Bargain!

And so last week, I went about making it pretty. In the past, most of my restoration jobs have consisted mainly of gold spray paint, this time I was using the grown-up stuff:

The £5 1960s bureau from eBay (with the help of my boyfriend) was sanded, drawers removed, handles replaced, primed and painted. The result is something I am VERY proud of..... 

The colour I used was Farrow & Ball "White Tie" and the brass handles were from Graham & Green. I removed the two bottom drawers and put some thick MDF on the bottom so there was an open shelf area - much more useful for my needs.

 The total cost of this project was around £60 and it took three days (to allow paint to dry).

And no gold spray paint in sight....

...almost!

**Handy tip: if the paint is sticking after it has dried (i.e. drawers tough to open), rub some candle wax along the bits that are sticking - works a treat! (thanks Mum)**