35 Comments

  1. This looks amazing! Love your style…your place looks great!

    1. Thank you so much Lori

  2. I might be in the minority here but I absolutely love the bleached look of this desk. I do love cherry wood, but there is something very pretty and light with the bleached wood. Makes me want to try it witha couple of pieces I have in my living room, but I think they are pretty much all veneer and I don’t have the headvy duty sanding tools.

    1. Thanks Susan, you should give it a try. It wasn’t all that bad. I’m sure you could do it to the veneer too

  3. I expected leather drawer pulls but I should have known they would be macrame! Looking forward to your post and video on how to make. I have my grandmothers very traditional dresser and want different pulls but you are right they are pricey and I can’t find the right size. Desk looks beautiful.

    1. Thank you! I tried the leather drawer pulls and I thought they were too pink for the desk. I wish the photos showed more how pretty the wood grain actually still is.

    1. Thanks Cassie, I’m glad I tackled and finished

  4. I love the bleached color! You are so very talented and I am envious! I am so sorry about your friend, I had 2 best friends who killed themselves years ago and it is so sad. It breaks my heart that some people see no other solution to whatever is going on in their lives. Thats a lovely way to honor him by displaying his artwork.

    1. Thanks Donna. He actually tried 3 times. It makes me very sad that nobody was able to stop him.

  5. Julia the desk is gorgeous! You are truly an artist, every diy you apply your talents to, amazes me. Your website is so refreshingly different. I love your mix of old & new…the paintings and quill are lovely.
    I’m sorry about your friend, how wonderful that you have such a special remembrance of him.

    1. Thanks Kathie. That is such a sweet compliment! I hope I am teaching my kids to mix old and new and to treasure our heirlooms too

  6. I LOVE the desk! I agree the style was too old fashioned for your decor, but with the beaching and lime waxing, it’s perfect. You did a fantastic job! I’m inspired to try something similar but I’m a little intimidated by the bleaching part. But the end result looks so worth it.

    1. Thanks Michelle! Don’t be intimidated by the bleaching it really sounds scarier than it is. It’s not bad at all and quite satisfying to see.

  7. Marian Zimmerman says:

    love love it. I have one, looks over whelming with the bookcase on top, but Im gonna try it . so glad I didn’t paint it

    1. Thanks Marian and good luck!

  8. aussiebushgirl says:

    You did an amazing job, Julia. Totally amazeballs!

    1. Well, thanks so much Heather.

  9. Althea Lee says:

    You did an amazing job. I can appreciate the work as I did something similar to a coffee table with beautifully carved legs and it took a lot of patience to scrub off the stain. How’s the poly holding up on top of the wax? WIth the coffee table, I ended up white washing it with chalk paint for that same concern.

    1. Thanks so much! The polycrylic is holding up really well.

  10. Hi, beautiful desk. Since I’m not familiar with this process, can it be restained before the poly coat?

    1. Sorry but I’m not sure.

  11. Great job! Unfortunately, I prefer the original (as you bought it) only because it looks like birch to me, which is a much less expensive (although harder) wood.

  12. Did your desk darken again over time or does bleaching keep that from happening?

    1. It stayed the same light color as you see in my post. It’s been 5 years and still looks the same.

  13. Very helpful to know – thanks for answering!!

  14. Hi there — I loved this much and am following the steps on a beautiful dining set I picked up antiquing. I was about to put the water-based poly over the liming wax but got all in my head about it not working (everything I have read says never poly over wax!). Anyways, I just wanted to follow up and see how this has held up over time! Any issues? I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

    1. Hi Heather, to be honest… just leave the wax as is. I’ve tried that too and it holds up great.

  15. Julia, I love your desk redo!! I have a cherry large desk and bookcases I would like to do. Approximately how long did it take you to do the desk?

    1. Hi Julie, oh gosh that’s always a tough question. Had it not been for the claw feet, it would have gone much faster. It took me about 3 days where I snuck into the garage whenever I had time. Good luck!

  16. This turned out so beautiful! I am looking to purchase a natural cherry wood round table. I was wanting to try to match some chairs I purchased that are more of a natural wood with a golden look. Is there any way to achieve more of a golden/natural look? I want to get rid of the pink. Thank you for any advice.

    1. Hi Stacey! Getting rid of the pink tone is always hard. What helped for me was the lime wash. In its base form, limewash is off-white but alkali-resistant pigments can add a tint to it, so maybe if you go with a colored golden natural limewash?

  17. This is so pretty! What did you use to protect it please?

    1. It is just the white wash wax

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