It’s been a few years now since this old desk had a paint job. Eight to be exact. And, while the paint held up surprisingly well for those eight years (even through our move no less), the colour just wasn’t working in its new (moodier) home. That bright white, which used to look so soft and lovely in our old light & airy home, was definitely looking more stark and out of place in this new, cozy space. It was definitely time for an update.
This old desk has quite a story behind it – it once belonged to Brady’s Grandfather who has a pretty incredible story himself (you can read more about it all here). This desk truly holds such a special history for our family and returning it to this new/old house of ours, into my Mother-in-law’s study, in the very spot where she spent so much of her time (read more about why the study is such a special space for us here), well I can’t think of a better way to honour the sentimentality behind this beautiful old desk.
In order for this old desk to look a little more at home in this old study, it was clear to me that it was going to need a bit of a makeover once again. I knew that new paint and hardware would do wonders to bring this old piece of furniture back to life once again.
While I wasn’t really sure just what colour I wanted to go with in here, as I flipped through our paint decks looking for inspiration, I did know I was looking for something that would have a warmer feel to it. I didn’t like the way the bright white stood out so much in this dark, moody space – I didn’t know what exactly I was looking for, but I did know it would be darker. I thought about black, or charcoal, but I worried it wouldn’t play well with the charcoal colour on the walls, which often reads as brown in some light. I thought about introducing a colour into this space like a dark green or brown maybe, but without a clear plan about the rest of the furniture in this space, that felt a bit risky to jump into at this point. And so, I came around to the idea of a taupe colour – something that would read as a neutral in this already very busy little room, but that would still bring the warmth that I was looking for. I flagged tons of beautiful options to ponder, but honestly, the more I looked through them all, the more lost I felt about finding the right one (if you read this post, you’ll know that this indecision has been a recurring theme for us lately). I decided to walk away from it for a while instead of trying to force myself to choose the perfect colour out of the 58676549 options I’d narrowed it down to and wouldn’t you know, inspiration struck that very night. I was chatting with Brady about playing around with some paint on a few doors around our main floor (I’m trying to take advantage of this opportunity to try some ideas out before we tear it all apart for our big renovation) – when I told him about the colour I was planning to paint them, how beautifully it paired with the oak trim that we won’t get around to changing for a while yet, I realized this would be a great option for the desk too! Warm and rich without being too bold, and even more, I could make use of the extra paint I’d have leftover after painting those doors! An easy win really.
And so, I pulled out the paint and got right to work. After a quick coat of our go-to primer and a couple of coats of this rich, milk chocolatey brown paint, we had ourselves a new/old desk to match our new/old home!
I knew I needed to match this rich, warm colour with some rich, warm hardware and these solid brass pulls and knobs did not disappoint. The warm brass compliments the chocolate brown paint so perfectly and I especially love that they will patina over time, continuing to add to the story of this beautiful piece of furniture.
I love that this old piece has been given new life once again and, even more, that it’s found a home that honours its story and history in such a meaningful way. This desk has become the place where I now spend my days – sipping my morning coffee, making plans for this new/old house of ours, and writing blog posts to share those stories with you. And so, its story continues.
Wishing you SUCH a lovely day my friends!ย
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Its beautiful and worth keeping. Its regal enough to be in that room with all the oak. I have never seen a home and rich and formal as your new home is. I enjoy watching the changes and look forward to seeing more. Even if I am envious.
Awwww, thanks Leanna! This house is somehow formal yet informal all at the same time – there is a lot of woodwork and character detail, but also elements like open concept (well before that was a thing), shelves for books and decor in nearly every room, etc. that really add a lot of lived-in coziness too. I think it all adds up to feel really warm and welcoming. I’m excited about the challenge ahead as we find a way to continue to honour the history and warmth this house holds for us. ๐