I’ve been working several hours a day to finish painting all pieces I have in my garage. I’m not sure if I will be able to sell them all at the Lucketts Spring Market in May, but even if I don’t, at least I will finally refill my Etsy shop inventory.

You know how much I love my paint sprayer. It saves time, and I really like the smooth, neat finish it gives to my projects, however, spraying is very messy, and working in my a freezing garage during the winter months is off the table.

The pressure to finish as many pieces as I can by mid May has forced me to go back to my paint rollers and brushes, which allow me to work in the warmth of my basement. What seemed to be a limitation actually turned out to be very liberating for my creative process. Without the need to achieve a perfectly smooth finish, I’ve been exploring artistic techniques and finishes that look beautiful precisely because of their imperfections.

This secretary desk and chair set is a good example. The visible brush marks as well as the coral and gold highlights placed unevenly over the gray tones are, in my opinion, what brings interest to this set.

This is the “before” picture of this gem I found on my local ReStore Habitat for Humanity.

To avoid the messy process of sanding and priming, I chose to use chalk paint on this project. A good cleaning with water and vinegar was all the preparation I needed.

I used several colors of DecoArt chalk paint for this project. For the interior, I mixed red and yellow and, instead of orange, which was my original goal, I got this beautiful rosy coral. I rolled it with a good-quality paint roller and used an artist brush to paint the corners and hidden areas my roller didn’t reach.

For the exterior, I mixed several shades of gray on my chip brush and applied it on the piece always keeping my brush wet so the colors would blend smoothly.

This is the same technique I used to paint an industrial metallic look dresser showed in the video below. Check it out if you don’t remember seeing it.

I added a few hints of the same coral I used on the inside on the outside of the desk using a very wet small brush.

The original knobs were gorgeous and just needed a good cleaning, so I soaked them in a mix of water and vinegar overnight and scrubbed all the guck off with an abrasive sponge.

To enhance the beautiful gold of the drawer pulls, I rubbed some aged gold wax to the edges and details of the desk and chair and sealed everything with Annie Sloan clear wax.

I was lucky to find this cheerful floral fabric at Joanne’s with the perfect upholstery colors for the chair that completes the set. Isn’t that a beauty?

As a final touch, following my sister’s advice to have some surprise on the inside of the drawers, I stenciled a delicate lace pattern with the coral paint I used on the inside of the desk.

And now, all the pictures!

Let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by.

Pat.