Nautical Themed Roll Top Desk

In case you haven't noticed I love to do very feminine pieces. I felt like I needed to show myself and my husband that I was capable of something different. This is my idea of whimsy for boys or men?

I got this roll top desk on craiglist, and I've had this chair in my garage forever from a dining room set I bought and didn't use just one chair. For the desk, I used Aubusson Blue Chalk Paint with a mocha glaze, then polyurethaned the whole piece. I used a spray can poly for most of the desk but on the writing surfaces and top I did a paint-on poly. I just felt like wax wasn't going to be strong enough for what might happen on a desk. Last, but not least, I distressed with a medium grit hand sanding block.

The hardware features a compass and were purchased at hobby lobby. I printed off an old map and lined the drawers using Mod Podge to stick and seal.

The chair was originally black. I used Old Fashioned Milk Paint in barn red. Milk paint is really wonderful, it has a great matte look and distresses in its own unique way. Old Fashioned milk paint is sold in a powder that you mix with water. I found it online, but some local home improvement stores sell it in cans premixed. It is cheaper than the chalk paint and goes a long way. It doesn't have a long shelf life once you have mixed it in water, so just mix a little at a time. It is non-toxic and works really well on porous surfaces or bare wood. It has something in common with chalk paint too- it can stick to any surface if you purchase a bonding agent called Ultra Bond to mix in. Well, I was out of this bonding agent, but I remember thinking it looked and smelled a lot like glue, so what did I do? I added a little (you guessed it) MOD-PODGE! It did the trick and stuck amazingly. I did notice that it distressed a little differently than with the ultra bond and it was even more matte than usual.

I put a new cushion on the chair and had a rough time finding a way to fit the chairs odd shape. Not my best easy reupholstering job. To get the ship design on the fabric, I printed a picture off of the internet on regular paper and Mod Podged it on to some canvas material. Then I sprayed water on it, ironed it, and let it sit for a couple of hours. I gently rinsed off the paper, then let the fabric dry and stapled it on the chair. Lastly, I put a very thin layer of Mod Podge over the ship for protection. The desk and chair will be available for purchase in my shop.