Creating a Double Desk with Annie Sloan

When we moved into the new house, we wanted to have a designated area that we could call our office. The former owners used the area we liked as a dining area, but the space was much too small for a true dining room. There is a bay window and plenty of room for a desk. A single desk was always in the plan, however, after talking about how much each of us would be using the space we decided to go with a double desk. Finding one of these new was next to impossible without breaking the bank. We found this dining table on Craigslist for $75. Its solid oak and heavy! Perfect for what we needed.

Most everything in our house are warm tones, natural colors, nothing too bright. Annie Sloan’s French Linen with a mix of the Annie Sloan Old White seemed to be a good fit. We wanted gray, but not as dark as the vanity we had painted in the master bath. We also wanted it to blend well with the armoire we had also painted that is in the office as well.

We started with giving the table a good cleaning with a heavy-duty degreaser. Once it was dry, there were a few uneven places that we sanded down to make sure it was a smooth service going in. You don’t have to sand your table if everything is the way you like it on the top.

The paint we chose covered this table like a dream. It only needed two coats. Once everything was good and dry, we applied the Annie Sloan White Wax. This has to be applied once small area at a time, then removed with a cheese cloth or old shirt. Once the table was done, waxed applied, it was time to cure. Everything I have read about Annie Sloan wax, is that you need a good 30 days to let it completely dry and cure for it to be resistant to stains, scratched, etc. With this project, we waited the full 30 days before we put one thing on the table. We knew this was going to used more than any other furniture and we didn’t want to take a chance on damaging the hard work we put into this desk because we didn’t let it dry long enough.

After the 30 days, we put all of our cute decor on the table and away we went using it every day. The double desk has worked out so well, I highly recommend other families or couples trying it out. It makes life easy and we have a single location to work and keep our office clean and neat. No more one person in the living room at the coffee table and another at the dining room table. It has worked out wonderfully.