I took the desk apart and placed it carefully on some plastic. I've also recently found that old shower curtain liners are great for this and very reusable. I like that they are heavier and seem to stay put much better than the plastic drop cloths you can get at hardware stores.
I used Zinsser spray primer (love this stuff) and after a couple layers of it, I let it dry. Then I took steel wool and did a few rounds of light sanding until the wood felt nice and smooth. Then with more spray paint, I did two rounds and, finally, two coats of Wipe On Poly varnish. Surprisingly enough, it only took a few hours for the entire process.
I found some drawer pulls from the sale section at Anthropologie and put it all back together:
The chair shown is one I got from an old office-going-out-of-business-sale which was covered in this dreary dark fabric. I had fallen in love with Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon (thanks to Jenny at Little Green Notebook) but couldn't bring myself to spend $129 a yard on fabric for a chair I spent $5 on. Luckily, I found a Ralph Lauren tablecloth which had a kind of similar feel for $19.99 which worked wonderfully to reupholster the chair.
In the new house, this desk has been set up as my vanity in the Master Bedroom. I've mounted a mirror above it and replaced the office supplies and files in the drawers with makeup, brushes, and all of my misc stuff for getting ready.
I'll be recovering the chair in a fabric more in line with the theme of that room soon and will cover in an upcoming post.
