Ikea Desk transformation finally complete!!

I finally finished my Ikea desk transformation that I have been working on for far too long.  I haven't really put a ton of hours into it but the nice weather we have been enjoying has pushed this project to the back burner.  Here it is.

And this is what it used to look like.

You can see my inspiration for my desk in this post.

What I did to achieve this transformation:

I took this stack of walnut off-cuts from my Dad's woodworking.

Then I glued them down on a sheet of mdf cut to the size of my desk.  You can read a little on this process here and here.

Then sanded and sanded and sanded some more.  Added 5 coats of a tung oil, linseed oil, spar urethane, and varnish mixture.  And glued it onto my desk (after I had ruffed the desk up a bit with 120 grit sandpaper).

Then the painting began.  One coat of Benjamin Moore's Fresh Start Primer and three coats of Cabinet Coat in Timid White.  Finished with one coat of the same mixture as above for good measure.

I removed the metal leg and sprayed it with Rustoleum's metallic spray paint for a shiny metal finish rather than the flat finish on the leg originally.  I also sprayed some brass lion pulls in the same metallic paint and attached them to the drawers.  Some of the options I considered for the metal you can read about here. 

 A better view of the slats on the top.

The Lion pulls I picked up from Home Depot and sprayed.

Now I am on the hunt for the perfect office chair to compliment my desk, some great drapes for this room and a little more wood for the shelving I plan to build for my office/music room.

Linking this project to:

Type A Decorating                  Thrifty Decor Chick         The DIY Showoff        WOW Us Wednesdays
Swing Into Spring                Wicked Awesome Wednesday       Creative Share Wednesdays
Workshop Wednesday        Simply Creations           Frugalicious Friday       Remodelaholics Anonymous
Flaunt it Friday