Beautiful Antique Secretary Makeover
Love a good furniture makeover before and after? See how this antique secretary gets a beautiful new look. Get product information and how to tips.
I haven’t posted a furniture makeover in sooo long! And this one has been a long time coming…for many reasons. But it’s this pretty girl’s debut today, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to send her to Happy Girl’s newlywed apartment to get filled! Hope you enjoy all the tips and inspiration in this Beautiful Antique Secretary Makeover post!
Beautiful Antique Secretary Makeover
For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission. There is no additional cost to you. “As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.” My full privacy policy is here.
A Local Estate Sale Find
Driving home one day I spotted a local estate sale sign; lucky me! I realized I’d been there the week before, but they had only had small things. This was the second sale they were having, at the end of the day…and the garage was filled with beautiful old furniture.
If I still owned a store, I would have cleaned them out. But my house is filled with a backlog of curbside furniture projects waiting for me already. But this beauty had such gorgeous details:
After a little back and forth texting with Happy Girl to see if she liked it…I offered $50…and they said yes! Can you believe it? Luckily my youngest was home to swing by with his pickup and pop it in back. It was meant to be!
Sanding and Painting
All the hardware came off (put them in a labeled baggie so you don’t lose anything) and I gave it a scuff sanding all over with my palm sander and 100 grit sandpaper. I smoothed out the rough edges that happen over time. I also took the cubby desk divider out and sanded it, too.
Once all the sawdust was blown off with the compressor, I wiped it all down with vinegar and water. Now it was ready to paint.
I ordered a brand new bag of Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Typewriter. (You can get it HERE. Use my code 10OFFLB for a discount) I mix up their powdered paint in a glass jar with an immersion blender, 1 part powder to 1 part lukewarm tap water. Then let it rest for 5-10 minutes. The new formulation is much nicer than the one they had years ago; it doesn’t separate like the old version did.
The first coat looked kinda funny. It wasn’t looking black enough. At first I thought maybe it had dried funny because it was in the garage and we’d had a very rainy year. Then I asked about it in their Facebook group to get any ideas or advice. No one had had this happen before.
After thinking on it and even emailing the company about it, I had the brilliant idea to mix up the bag of dry powder paint and see if I could get a different result.
Yep-it worked! Point learned…always mix the paint, powder or liquid, well before you start painting. The pigments can settle and the result will not be what you like. Stir, shake, or whatever you need to do to get the pigments mixed.
So much better!
Distressing and Moisturizing
After two coats were dry, I hand distressed and sanded the whole piece with 150 grit sandpaper. Yes, I had fine black dust all over me;) I like to highlight all the pretty details by sanding around them and also the edges where the piece would naturally wear. I like the architecture of the piece to show and to see the pretty wood here and there.
After blowing the dust off, I wiped the whole piece with Miss Mustard Seed’s hemp oil (or mink oil). It moisturizes the wood and brings out the beauty. Often that’s all it will need to finish. But I wanted this piece to have a nice sheen to it.
I actually went over the whole piece again with #000 steel wool. Then I wiped on a coat of THIS furniture wax and buffed it a little with a dry cloth. It’s the first time I’d used it and was very happy with the amount of sheen and hardness it gave.
Almost Forgot
Almost forgot…I left the inside shelf space and shelves natural wood to contrast with the black paint. The back wall was unfinished, but the sides had some wear. I simply sanded the back and sides and gave them a fresh coat of my favorite poly (find it HERE). I did the same with the shelves: sanded and polyed.
Reviving the Hardware and Mirror
Each part of these old pieces need a little love to be revived. The mirror had sticky stain around the beveled edge. I scraped it off with a razor blade. Then I cleaned it with straight vinegar.
I cleaned the hardware up by cooking it in an old crockpot with water for a couple hours. This will soften any old paint and finishes so you can scrub or scrape them off. Once dry I used a stencil brush and painted the detailed handles and lock pieces with antique gold Rub n Buff. If it was for me, I would have kept them as is, but I figured my girl would like them to pop a little more. (find Rub n Buff HERE)
The Finished Antique Secretary
This piece cleaned up just as pretty as I knew she would! I love spotting pieces with potential like this and giving them a makeover. She’s ready for another 100 years in her new home!
I added a pretty glass knob so the desk part would be easier to open.
Love the subtle sheen of the wax finish, and it is nice and hard to the touch. The antique gold painted handles and details do make the whole piece pop!
Love the wood/paint combo on the desk divider. This will be a great spot to store stamps and write a quick note.
These types of pieces provide a great combo of storage, display and function (without taking up much floor space). The glass was gone, but can easily be replaced with something else if you need it to be out of sight. We thought about old ceiling tin or beadboard. But Happy Girl is going to put a sash rod at the top and bottom and put fabric in the door.
This one was a labor of love, but I’m so happy with how she turned out! One more beauty shot, since she looks so pretty with the Fall leaves;)
Hope you enjoyed seeing the transformation of this antique secretary! If you’re ever wondering what products I use and love, you can find my favorite Vintage Reviver’s Favorites HERE.
Miss Mustard Seed Products can be found HERE. Use my code 10OFFLB for discount.
Thanks for reading this Beautiful Antique Secretary Makeover! If you enjoyed your visit, be sure to Become an Insider so I can send the ideas right to you! You can Sign Up HERE.
Follow Me: LTK | Amazon | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook
pin and save
Sharing at these lovely parties:
Wow, what an amazing transformation! Thanks for the wonderful tutorial!
Thanks! It was worth the effort, indeed;)
She’s gorgeous and I always love the contrast with black and natural wood!! Beautiful save on this piece for sure!
I love the combo of paint and wood on a piece, too. Thanks!
Love this Lora! Typewriter looks perfect on her. You did an amazing job.
Thanks, Anna. I love typewriter; especially on a piece with pretty details that will pop.
Absolutely Stunning! Thanks for sharing your process and products.
Your welcome; thanks!
Amazing job, Lora!! Looks SO good! And what a steal you got it for!
Thanks, Rachel. I just couldn’t not get it at that price;)
This is a beautiful piece ! I love everything you did. I bet your daughter loves it and this piece can fit in where ever they live. Thanks for sharing this project !
Thanks! Yes, they will be able to use it in any room wherever they live. They’re filling it up now!
You certainly made this beautiful old piece shine, so pretty.
Thanks, Marlene! It’s fun to work on projects for my big kiddos;)
Wow it is BEAUTIFUL! You did an amazing job! That is a whole lot of work. You made my hands go numb just watching it. But the finished product makes it all worth it.
Thank you! The work was spread out over many months, which helped;)