DIY Faux Bamboo Desk
How do children grow up so fast? One minute you’re putting them down in their crib and the next…my middle child recently turned five and decided she now needs a “big girl room,” complete with a desk and taller bed. Well, I do love a room makeover, so let’s do it! After scouring online at all the usual haunts, I was left wanting. Everything was back ordered, cheap looking, overpriced, or just not quite right. One lucky Instagram account find later, I stumbled upon KPBungalow, an online furniture shop specializing in amazing furniture with style, like the classic, Henry Link Faux Bamboo.
While the desk was certainly beautiful in all of it’s faded yellow glory, it needed a refresh. Step 1: Sanding and priming. After removing all the drawer handles except one on the faux drawer (more on that later), I used a hand-held sanding block to achieve the desired results, followed by a coat of Bullseye 1-2-3 Primer.
As I was essentially painting two large pieces, the desk and the hutch, I split them up over multiple nights in our sunroom, where I can see the TV and paint : ). I find painting relaxing and fulfilling, and only do it at night, after the little ladies are fast asleep…this eliminates the possibility of little finger print mishaps everywhere.
Since my daughter’s room is a lovely shade of pink, Benjamin Moore’s Pink Peony 2078-70, I chose a beautiful contrasting color of Blue Hydrangea 2062-60, also by Benjamin Moore (my favorite paint line) for the desk. If you want to achieve a lacquered, shiny look, I would recommend their High Gloss Advance finish. This particular finish is a little pricey, but in my opinion, highly worth it. I’ve used it on a couple of projects now and it does clean up nicely with soap and water. For this project, I used two coats all over, with an added third coat to the desktop surface for added protection…my middle child can be quite hard on furniture!
Here you see the hutch after two coats of paint, with one drawer front and center…this is a faux drawer and is unfortunately not removable. I was unable to remove the hardware without possibly damaging the desk and/or the light box behind it, so I painter’s tape and paper to protect the painted surface all around it while spraying the handle with Krylon Metallic Gold Leaf . I used Krylon on all of the other hardware as well (only one coat), which really brought this desk back to life!
I just adore the way it turned out! If you’re curious my daughter’s pink desk chair is from Wayfair, also a birthday present, and she says it’s “super comfy.” Also worth noting, I wanted a glass topper for this desk, as I knew my daughter would have scribbles and glue all over the top within a day…but that would have been several hundred dollars to have custom-fit to this classic desk. A more affordable option? A clear acrylic topper, which I cut down to size and applied to the top. My daughter can wipe it down herself and I do not have to worry about repainting anytime soon (win win). I’d love to hear if you give this a try on a piece that speaks to you!
