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Radiant Orchid Desk Makeover

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Today I’m collaborating with 6 other awesome bloggers. We are each sharing a “Radiant Orchid” (Pantone Color of the Year) project.

I chose to do my secretary desk (click HERE to see how I restored it). It has bored me for a while now, because in my eyes it just lacked something. So why not radiant orchid right? I have always liked this color and I’m totally aware that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I happen to love orchids and the dark pinkish-purple ones are my favorite.

I’m jumping right in to show you my after and then I will show you what I did:

And here is a more recent photo of the desk since I changed the inside to green (click HERE).
You can see the house tour photos HERE:

secretary desk styling - Cuckoo4Design
And now the before?
Ok but boring (and dusty)!!!!
I took the back of the desk off, taped it and painted it with the radiant orchid that I bought at Lowes.
And this is also the first time I got to try out this special little gadget that was sent to me. You know how frustrating it is when you are working on a painting a project and your little ones want food or drinks or who knows what else. Or when you are waiting for the first coat to dry?
You simply stick your wet brush in the container and take it out when you are ready to use it again. I kinda really like it. I used to take zip lock bags or aluminum foil but I’m all for not creating more trash and cleaning things instead. So this is a great solution.
Then I went into the attic and retrieved the desk insert that I had stashed away because I didn’t want to use it. Well I changed my mind. After giving it a good cleaning and two coats of my absolute favorite KILZ spray primer. I gave it a fresh coat of white semi-gloss spray paint.
I also painted the knobs radiant orchid and used some leftover black and white wall vinyl strips to create the stripes on the little secret compartments. And voila…I really love it. It’s one of those things that makes me happy. Cheerful and bright! Totally not boring anymore.
So now you just have to check out what my talented friends did by heading to their blogs:
From top left moving clockwise:
1. Flower Pots from Dimples and Tangles
2. me 😉
3. Abstract Art from Retro Ranch Renovation
4. Powder Room from The Chronicles of Home
5. Painted Tray from Dwellings by Devore
6. Cross Stitched Jewelry Organizer from Primitive and Proper

Enjoy! Don’t forget to stop back on Friday for another pet series post.

Tschüß

(Youleeya)

38 Comments
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Comments

  2. Summer Hogan says

    So cute Julia and I always love your attention to detail. The actual orchid is gorgeous and I love you ghost chair too. I am definitely headed to The Container Store to get that acrylic box 🙂 And I can’t wait to try those paint brush covers! I was SO excited when Emily A Clark posted about them!

  6. Cathy Wall says

    LOVE this! I have a secretary desk that was my husband’s grandfather’s which his mother painstakingly stripped and refinished years ago. I have always wanted to do something to it but did not want to offend her…. I am so doing this, it’s the perfect solution. and yours in radiant orchis is to die for, well done!

  7. [email protected] Chronicles of Home says

    This is lovely! And your styling is so fabulous. I obviously was a little liberal with my interpretation of “radiant orchid” and didn’t get the exact color 🙂 It adds so much interest to that desk and just rocketed it from a straight up vintage piece to a perfect old/new mix. Beautiful work!

  9. Keya @ Vintage Prairie Style says

    you rocked that colour Julia! I am not much for radiant orchid by I could definitely see using it like you did. Amazing. by the way – I just discovered that I’ve been a no-reply for about a month, just in case you were wondering where all the mysterious comments were coming from 😉

  10. Katja @ Shift Ctrl ART says

    That is such a cool makeover. I love that you were able to get some fun into the desk, while still keeping the wood color on the outside. It is really fantastic looking 🙂

  12. Brynne Delerson says

    This is perfect! Love the little surprise when you open the desk, and even though it isn’t my favorite color, I can totally appreciate it in little touches like this! I love the styling as well!

  18. Jennifer Lippi says

    It is lovely Julia! I love that you just added small doses of Radiant Orchid. Before I clicked on the full post I had visions of an entire secretary painted that color! What a fun project to collaborate on!

  30. Debbie J. says

    Great job – looks really good. I was happy to see the use of the paint brush cover – the guys that developed this were on Shark Tank this past Friday night. They are so cute and 100% NYC guys. I was very impressed if it really works that well and you just confirmed it. Thanks for sharing.

  31. Amber Wills says

    Such a beautiful job! I’m not a huge fan of purple but this is perfect! It looks so great with all the black and white in the hall and that insanely rich wood tone! Gorgeous!