Is It A Chest of Drawers or A Desk?

Makeover of a Secretary Chest of Drawers

"Do you want to buy this chest of drawers?" my friend asked.  My reply was, "Awesome, that is great!  Let me think about it."  For some reason, I was a bit (okay, so maybe a lot) wishy washy and hesitant about buying this piece?  It was in excellent shape, the perfect item for a makeover.  I do love to paint and do furniture makeovers. Why was I being so hesitant? 

Would any one be interested in a Secretary Chest of Drawers?  Does anyone use them? Is it something I want to resell or something I want to keep for myself?  Convincing myself that it's really awesome with the drop down desk.  All these questions, running through my mind.  So while I was thinking about all of this the buying of it. kind of got lost in the shuffle of my getting ready to quit my office job and work Shell's Vintage Charm full time.  

So needless to say several months down the road, my friend asks me again.  She knew that I would end up buying it and Thank Goodness for awesome friends, that sometimes know you better than you know yourself.  We picked a time to meet so I could pick up  my new treasure, as it was actually her daughter's, but I also had some old bedsprings that I really was dying to get my hands on.  Okay maybe not dying but wanting really, really bad!

The adventure of getting the bedsprings and this chest of drawers, would be a whole other blog post within itself, as when my friend and I are together, well lets just say we tend to have "Lucy and Ethel" moments from I Love Lucy.  I have no pictures of this but....
Just imagine driving down a country road, with the back of the truck loaded with old, rusty, bouncy bedsprings before we pick up the chest of drawers, Going back to her house, we look in the back and the chest of drawers are bouncing.  Yep, I said bouncing!  Remember that AYYYE screams that sometimes Lucy and Ethel have on the episodes?  We stopped, tied everything down a little better, and both made it home safely and the chest of drawers intact.  
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So now the fun part to start the makeover.  Don't you just love to transform a piece of furniture?  Give it new life and make it pretty? I decided it needed some added decoration. Not having any wooden swirls or ornamental designs to add,  I got out my joint compound and stencil. (Wanted something with dimension.)

Sorry, I didn't take pictures adding t;he joint compound.  Using a putty spatula (is that what it is called?) apply a layer of joint compound over your stencil.  After applying the compound joint in a thin layer over the stencil, carefully remover the stencil.  Let it dry completely.

If you have any little mishaps, you can take and clean up around your edges and softly sand to get it the they way you want it to look. Remember it doesn't have to be perfect that is what gives it character and makes it unique.  You are now ready to begin painting.  I used chalk paint. I use my own recipe for this chalk paint. I am using an off white color for this project. 

After painting, I used Waverly Inspirational Wax, bought from Wal-Mart in the Antique and Clear.

Working in small sections added it with a brush and wiped with an old t-shirt

I waxed and distressed until I had the desired look, I wanted.

Really like the finished Secretary Chest of Drawers.  I can see myself sitting here working on blog posts or planning in my new Day Planner.  Me and planning? Yep, a whole another post for that topic as well.
I hope you have enjoyed the transformation of my Desk? Or is it Chest of Drawers.?