One Room Challenge - Week Four

Welcome to Week Four of The One Room Challenge. I am in the process of transforming my traditional red library into a glamorous and feminine space for myself for blogging and interior design. To catch up on weeks one, two, and three, click on the gold ORC button in my sidebar.

My goal this week was to decide on a desk. After getting rid of my massive mahogany desk, I fell in love with how huge my office feels. I decided I wanted a gold leaf and glass desk that was not too large. All I really need in there is a computer desk for my iMac. This Worlds Away Brentwood Desk above is just the look I love but too large and about $1,700.

I already had sitting in my office this Ikea Vittsjo Laptop Desk. I used it previously for my printer and my inbox. I have been using it temporarily as my desk while I hunted for a new desk.

I suddenly realized three things.

*First, it is very much the same style as the Worlds Away Brentwood Desk.
*Second, it is the size I was looking for.
*Third, I already owned it, so it was free. The original cost was $39.99.

I decided to gold leaf it myself. What was the worst that could happen?

I first thought about gold spray paint, but decided against it. The gold is not as rich as I would like and the finish ends up too even - I want it to look like gold leaf.

I then thought about real gold leaf. Having used real gold leaf sheets on a Martha Stewart project a while back, I decided with all these thin metal surfaces it would be a real pain.

So I turned to liquid gold leaf. I have used this stuff a bunch before and it is wonderful. I headed to Michael's and bought two bottles of Plaid Liquid Leaf in Classic Gold and two thin sponge brushes. The thin size sponge brush is important so it fits into that little bottle.

Coat number one took me 30 minutes. I waited 1 hour for it to dry - it dries so fast - and put on coat number two - another 30 minutes. I still need to put on an acrylic sealer to prevent tarnishing.

The cost was about $20.00 and it looks fantastic! Here it is drying in my laundry room.

Here are some darling gold accessories I found to style the desk.

Jonathan Adler Gold Carnaby Stacking Dish

Giraffe Ring Holder - from my collection - no longer available from Anthropologie - I will use it for paper clips

Kate Spade Gold Dot Cloverdale Vase - from my collection - no longer available - for fresh flowers on my desk

Kate Spade Light Up the Room Candle

Kate Spade Bow Paper Clips

Kate Spade Patterned Erasers

Kade Spade 2015 Agenda

I guess you are getting the idea that I have gone wild over gold for my desk.

Now let's go see what the rest of the gang has been up to this week -

Abby M. Interiors

Because It’s Awesome

Bijou & Boheme

Chinoiserie Chic

The Decorista

Design Chic

The Design Daredevil

Design Darling

Design Indulgence

Design Manifest

House of Turquoise

Jana Bek Design

Jill Sorensen

Maddie G. Designs

Mimosa Lane

A Piece of Toast

The Pink Pagoda

Stone Textile

Waiting on Martha

The Zhush

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