Good morning! I've mentioned many times that I'm working on our office, and it's actually just about done. I have one more (highly unnecessary) project to complete, some vacuuming to do and some photos to shoot, and you'll get the full monty. But in the meantime, I want to share my lovely little desk with you.

Let's start at the beginning.

This "before" picture - complete with shims underneath the desk because that's how sloped the floors are - is abysmal of course. But the desk is very special. When I was in high school, I didn't have a desk for homework. In a sure sign of things to come, I rigged together one for myself out of milk crates and a slab of plywood I filched from my dad's lumber pile. I was, frankly, pretty happy with it. But a friend of mine, who worked for his dad building custom cabinetry, was unimpressed. So, for my 17th birthday, he built me this desk.

I mean. That's pretty special. And who knows? Maybe I wouldn't have gotten into college or law school or learned rudimentary photo editing without this desk. Milk crates may not have fostered adequate study habits. But, lo, these 15 years later, the desk, which has been jostled back and forth and babysat by kind family members while I gallivanted about, was showing wear.

And, though I love the rich brown stain, I have been yearning for something lighter, especially in the very dark office. (I'm not kidding about how dark it is in here. Louisa, in full princess regalia, is playing a game right now where this is the land of darkness and the family room is the land of light. And she's nailing it). I mulled over options, including papering the desk and topping with custom-cut plexi glass (expensive!), just papering over with contact paper, and painting the whole thing. In the end, after several hours staring at it, I decided to just embrace my love of two tone while maintaining the desk's integrity, as it were, and paint the top only.

I took out the top drawers, sanded the top with first medium and then fine grit sand paper, slapped some painter's tape on the perimeter (a worthwhile precaution) and painted the top, using a small foam roller and Benjamin Moore Natura No-VOC Waterborne white paint in Semi-Gloss. In all, I applied five thin, even coats, allowing each coat to dry to the touch between applications. Then I sanded the top with very fine grit sandpaper and applied two coats of Minwax Water Based Clear Satin polycrylic, sanding between coats. I'm thrilled with the crystal-clear finish of the polycrylic, and hoping that it protects against chips. The Internet raves about this stuff, so I'm optimistic. The level of shine of the Clear Satin was enough for me - it's definitely shiny, but not out of place on the rest of the desk.

Then, I scrubbed the whole thing down with my homemade all-purpose cleaner and a microfiber cloth, and followed up by rubbing it down with olive oil. I switched the hardware out for these amazing Anthropologie (of course) drawer pulls, which were originally $14.99 each, but which I scored (all eight!) for an extra 50% off of $4.99. The math of which I figure you've got covered. But they were a total steal, is what I'm saying.

Finally, I know it's a little weird, but I had this sheet of marble contact paper from my adventures in coffee table revamps, and I really like how it looks here. I just laid it on, not even bothering to remove the backing. Partly, that's because this is dollar store contact paper, so I have my doubts about ease of removal, and partly because it has stayed in place and there's been no need to secure it.

As for the stuff around the desk, I'm pretty smitten with all of it. I removed the Stay at Home Change the World print from its dangerously decrepit frame, and I dig the casual vibe of having it just tacked to the wall. The postcards - from San Jose, Philadelphia, San Francisco and New York, are a non-exhaustive list of places I've lived, from a stack of US postcards I got on Fab several months ago. I painted the little cork board white at the same time as I did the desk (I am always looking around for things to paint when I have a brush/roller in my hand. It's a dangerous game), and the chalk board is a useful place to jot down wish lists. The fabric calendar is from Paper Source, and though I actually bought it as a gift for someone else, I'm happy with it in here. I like how it's a bit feminine. The Sunny Side of the Bay print is from Oakland, and it's actually a tee-shirt. It's super high-necked, so I hardly ever wore it, but wanted to keep it for sentimentality. Now that I think about it, I actually have a thing with framing tee-shirts. I sense a new Cheap Art series coming on.

Yes. I have a lot of scissors. I suppose I should have pruned the collection in the name of staging these shots, but I didn't even think about it. Scissors are useful. I am not ashamed to have so many.

And that's it! That's the story of a little desk I've always loved so much, but now really, really love. I actually even sit down here and work sometimes, instead of just sprawling out on the loveseat in the room (or out in the land of sunshine). I am pretty stoked to share the rest of the office with you guys; until I was flipping through photos to grab a before shot of the desk, and I hadn't appreciated just how far we've really come.

Have you ever revamped a piece of furniture and felt great about it? No regrets? Was sentimentality or fear of declining value holding you back? Do tell. Thanks as always for reading!