a french desk.

french-desk-title

Remember my ‘find of the day’ from the MacGrove sales?

mac grove find

I love the delicate proportions of this pretty little desk.  Or at least I am calling it a desk.  It could be a console table, or a dressing table.

I had originally envisioned a refinished wood top with a chippy white base.  But after I’d stripped two layers of paint off the top, I realized that I didn’t like the ‘wood top look’ with the more French looking details on this piece.  So after all of that work, I sanded it down and painted the whole thing grey.  This is approximately a 50/50 mix of Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in Trophy and Schloss.

french-desk-close-up

And I ended up with no chipping at all.  Once again the ability to predict chippy-ness eludes me.  I knew I wouldn’t get any chipping on the freshly stripped top, but I thought for sure that painting over existing paint would result in some chipping.  Nope.

You can see that I added a bit of Little Billy Goat Gold Leaf goat stick to the details

french-desk-close-up-2

and also to the drawer pulls.  Aren’t these pretty?

gold-drawer-pulls

I’ve played on the classic Grecian urn motif on the hardware, the drawer front and the cross piece at the bottom by hanging my favorite gold framed mirror above it for my photos.

frecnh-desk

These two pieces pair up so nicely that I’ve decided to offer the mirror along with the desk.

mirror-detail

I never thought I would part with this mirror, but it seems like they belong together.

french-desk-angle

I almost hate to put a chair in front of this because I feel like it would cover up all of the pretty details.  Maybe it would be better as a console table in a foyer after all.

What do you think?

29 thoughts on “a french desk.

  1. I love both pieces! I would keep both of them! Oh how I wish I lived closer to you! Maybe it’s good that I don’t.
    Blessings

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    1. I suspect that if you lived nearby you would have way too much furniture Shelly 😉 And if I kept every piece that I love, I would also have way too much furniture!

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  2. It’s very elegant. Maybe a pretty stool in front and use it as a dressing table. Do women still use dressing tables? Anyway it’s very pretty. If it were mine I’d probably use it in a foyer.

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  3. Great work Q! This redo is wonderful! It looks like it could have been discovered in a French antique shop and is 200 hundred or more years old! The gold leaf accents finish it off nicely!

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      1. That’s what I thought too “a find in a French antique shop”. Color is perfection gold details like bits of jewelry so very lovely. Wonderful pairing too with the mirror. Like Shelly I would have to have this if I were close enough to snag it. I like it as a console.

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  4. I say no chair but maybe a stool. I really like the gold rub to make the handles abd accents stand out. And the mirror really does go perfectly with it.

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  5. This table has a beautiful next chapter of life ahead of it. I would like this best as a console table in an entry or gracing a sofa. The delicate legs make it appear to use little physical space so it would fit anywhere. I agree that this lovely table looks like it should come with a long and distinctive provenance! This is beyond typical “painted furniture!”

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    1. Thanks so much Kim. The woman I purchased it from did mention that she “paid way too much for it” in an antique shop, so hey, you never know. Maybe it does have a distinctive provenance!

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  6. Gorgeous pieces! You have brought out the detail beautifully with your choice of colour and the gold rub! So elegant! I hope you have had a great week so far!
    Smiles!
    Terry

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    1. Thanks Terry. Today is the last day of my working stay-cation, and as expected I did not get nearly as much done as I had hoped I would. But it has been super relaxing, so I’m good with that.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Hi – I really love this – not much CHIPPINESS thrills me. I could see it in a foyer with the mirror above it. Guess who this is from – Betty from Ontaro,Canada (you knew didn’t you?).

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  8. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THE CONSOLE. IF IT HAS TO BE A DESK IN ITS NEW HOME…IT
    NEEDS A CURVED BACK LOW SLUNG CHAIR SO IT ECHOS THE LINES OF THE
    DESK/CONSOLE.

    KEEP THE MIRROR…YOU WILL FIND IT A FAB HOME. YOU’LL SEE.
    KEEP THE MIRROR!!!

    BILLIE

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    1. I’ve had that mirror for years and it used to hang in my dining room. But then I dismantled my wall of mirrors and it got shoved in a closet. I’ve been trying to find a new home for it ever since, but so far the right spot has not presented itself.

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    1. I know, it is going to be tough to let the mirror go. It’s always been one of my favorites, but yet I haven’t found a spot to hang it in. It’s been languishing in a closet for over a year. Poor thing.

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