It’s no secret I love to go out on trash night and look to see what my neighbors are tossing out. I don’t pick up just anything I only take what I know I can use on a project I’m working on or will be working on in the near future. My husband lovingly calls me Lil’ Trash Troll. Sometimes he will look at a piece of furniture I have found on a trash troll run and say “no way you will make that work.” Days later he eats those words.
A few weeks ago I was on my way home from the gym and a neighbor had put a desk out on the road for trash day. A light went off in my head because my son had just days before told me he needed a desk. I pulled over jumped out stuffed it in my Kia Soul and off I drove with hatch open all the way home.
To say this desk was a mess is an understatement. It had broken drawer bases, loose parts and nasty stains all over the top. This was one of those pieces my husband said “No Way” to. I started out by fixing all the broken parts to the desk. I used a nail gun, wood glue and small tack nails. I followed this with sanding everything. I removed the wood knobs so I could later update them with something metal. A lot of the wood was damaged so I did a half paint half stain project. I decided on gray and black because it was a little more modern for my son’s apartment. I put new metal twisted handles on the front drawers and finished with 4 coats of clear coat to make it durable.
My son loved the finished desk. I love to save, redo and reuse what someone thinks is trash. It truly makes me Blue Happy.
