Ugly desk makeover using spray paint & shims

 The finished product!

This furniture makeover project turned out way better than I could have ever imagined. My sister had a new office full of drab old, standard-issue furniture - chipboard and vinyl veneer with rubber trim.

I worked with her on a TINY budget to design a new, mod space that sparked creativity! (I still need to take photos of it...)

Instead of buying a new desk, I spray painted the existing one after scrubbing it with TSP. I used 6 cans of high gloss white paint.

 

The desk "before" photo.

 

After maybe 2-3 cans of spray paint. Still needed a lot more!

 

Playing with the shim pattern before adhering the wood to the desk.

Next, I used about 15 packages of wooden shims to tile the front of the desk. I attached them with Liquid Nails and a caulk gun. Some of the thinner shims wanted to curl up once wet with the adhesive, and those I tried to weigh down but it didn't work. Ultimately I replaced them with thicker pieces. I made an effort to vary the color and direction and size of the shims so the overall effect had the most visual interest.

The desk turned up on its side for affixing the shims. I started in the middle top and worked my way out and down from there, cutting the extreme left and right edges to size.

The final product turned out so cool! It reminds me of a beachy yet modern hotel lobby desk. My sister likes it and it definitely doesn't look like a tired old piece of used office furniture now.

---

PROJECT REFLECTIONS

Total cost: $55.00

     $30 for spray paint; $24 for wooden shims; $3 for Liquid Nails

Easiest part: Tiling on the shims - it was strangely hypnotic and it went quickly.

Hardest part: The spray painting sucked. It didn't stick well to the vinyl coating and my finger started to cramp from pressing the button for so long. 

What I'd do differently next time: Start with 4 clean pieces of wood and build a simple 4-sided desk from scratch, then paint with a low-nap paint roller. 

What I learned: That wooden shims make great-looking tiles! Seriously, I cannot overstate how much I love the look of this. :)